Turkey’s first stealth combat drone, the Anka-3, successfully made its maiden flight yesterday reaching 8,000 feet altitude (more than 2,400 metres) in a flight that lasted for 1 hour and 10 minutes, Turkish defence company TAI said, confirming the debut of a new generation of Turkish combat drones that significantly increases Turkey’s defence capabilities.
The Anka-3 is the third member of the Anka series launched in 2016 and includes high capabilities such as low visibility to radar, a large payload capacity and high speed, thanks to its jet engine. During its maiden flight, the drone reached a speed of 150 knots (about 280 km/h), although its theoretical top speed is according to the manufacturer’s specifications 0.7 match (865 km/h), with a flight ceiling of 40,000 feet (more than 12,000 metres) and a flight autonomy of 10 hours at 30,000 feet (9,000 metres).
With a maximum flight weight of 6,500 kilos, the new Turkish stealth combat drone has a payload capacity of 1.2 tonnes and shares avionics architecture and ground control stations with the Anka and Anka-2 drones, also developed by TAI. The Anka-3 is designed to carry out different types of missions, including reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, and will be armed with air-to-ground and air-to-air ammunition as well as radar systems. “We now have a drone in the sky that the enemy can’t see, but that can see the enemy,” commented TAI president Temel Kotil after the maiden flight.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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