2024-05-13 21:48:01
Linking the tests of the unmanned combat aircraft with the “Blue Homeland”, a few days before the meeting of Kyriakos Mitsotakis with Tayyip Erdogan
The successful results of fire tests with air-to-surface missiles from an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) of the Akinci type were announced by the Baykar company, which produces the well-known Bayraktar TB-2 and TB-3 and has been developed by Seljuk Bayraktar, his son-in-law Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In the announcement announcing the results of the tests, it is emphasized that “Bayraktar Akinci’s successful performance in test firing against naval targets demonstrated his impact on the “Blue Homeland”. The connection of the “Blue Homeland” with everything that happens in the maritime space in Turkey shows that for Ankara this particular ideology is not an opportunistic choice to project positions in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, but a long-term strategy. In a broader context, Baykar’s announcement was recorded – and this one – a few days before the visit of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Ankara and while in the previous period some “mistakes” have already been recorded, which do not cancel the meeting of the two leaders, however, they burden the atmosphere, with the most typical example being the decision to convert the Monastery of Chora into a mosque.
On the substance of the announcements about Akinci there are some elements that show how structurally the Turkish defense industry has changed. This particular UCAV is built entirely in Turkey and its electro-optical systems, as well as the “smart” (ie guided) munitions it uses, are domestically developed and manufactured.
According to what was announced, the Akinci took off from the flight and test center in Raidesto and fired in two phases, with guided missiles of the MAM-T type and the ASELFLIR-500 targeting system (developed by the Turkish company Aselsan). With the first he hit a stationary target from an altitude of 30,000 feet. And with the second system it engaged and destroyed a moving target, an Albatros-type unmanned surface vehicle (USV), from the same altitude. As mentioned in the company’s announcement, similar tests were also carried out in February, however it seems that in the last one the shots hit the center of the target. There is talk of a “surgical bump” from Akinci, which was also tested for its aerodynamic parameters. This UCAV is powered by two engines with a total of 1,700 horsepower, made its maiden flight on December 6, 2019, and entered the arsenal of the Turkish Armed Forces on August 29, 2021. Shortly thereafter, the Akinci also entered the arsenal of Turkey’s internal security forces, but and Azerbaijan. The Turks have signed an agreement to export Akinci to a total of nine countries. It is recalled that Baykar’s export “champion”, the Bayraktar TB-2 has been agreed to be exported to a total of 33 countries.
Meanwhile, at the same time, the “Deniz Kurdu ’24” (Sea Wolf) exercise is taking place in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean. As “K” already noted last week (3.5), both Deniz Kurdu and Efes 2024 held in the Sea of Marmara and Izmir are notified through the process provided by the Confidence Building Measures (CBM). .
Source kathimerini.gr