Turkey’s New Fighter! Anka III Meets The Sky For The Third Time
The ANKA III unmanned aerial vehicle, developed by the Turkish defense industry, remained in the air for 2 hours on its third flight. ANKA III, which reached an altitude of 10,000 feet, also performed autopilot and flight mechanics tests.
Turkish Aerospace continues development and testing activities for ANKA III, which made its first flight on December 28, 2023.
ANKA III, which was improved with the data obtained from the first flight and made new test flights, met with the sky for the third time. ANKA III, which stayed in the air for 2 hours in its last flight, reached a speed of 160 knots and reached an altitude of 10 thousand feet. Thus, ANKA III improved all its flight values. The flight also included autopilot and flight mechanics tests.
Following the evaluations in each flight test, new performance and mission envelopes will be opened for ANKA III to make the platform ready for the mission.
Development work on the ANKA III, which takes the unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities of the Turkish defense industry to a new level, began in 2022. Following the System Requirements Review Meeting in March of the same year, system requirements were frozen. With the Preliminary Design Review Meeting held in April 2022, the external geometry design was determined.
The basic avionics architecture of ANKA III, whose basic avionics architecture is shared with ANKA and AKSUNGUR, was carried out rapidly, and design studies for the changing subsystems, especially the new propulsion system, were carried out rapidly. The Critical Design Review Phase started in October 2022. In November 2022, the first detailed parts of the aircraft were produced.
The ANKA III, whose structural assembly was completed in January 2023 and equipment and cabling installations in February, was first heard in March. ANKA III took to the runway for taxi tests in April 2023.
ANKA III, which successfully completed its first flight, is defined as an unmanned aerial vehicle system that is faster thanks to its jet engine, has a high payload carrying capacity and is less visible on radar thanks to its tailless structure.
TURKEY’S 3 HUNTERS WILL COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER
ANKA III, which is separated from its family with a new software system, is based on the ground systems and data links used in ANKA and AKSUNGUR. The ANKA III system will be managed with the same ground systems as ANKA and AKSUNGUR. These three systems will be able to be used as complementary elements in joint missions thanks to the same ground system they are controlled from. The software used in ANKA and AKSUNGUR, which has been developed and improved over time during flights of approximately 200 thousand hours, forms the basis of the software of the ANKA III system.
The ANKA III system will be able to carry 650 kilograms of ammunition in each of the two stations inside the fuselage, 650 kilograms in each of the inner wing stations and 100 kilograms in each of the outer stations. In this way, ANKA III will be able to integrate a wide range of options, including large ammunition such as SOM-J, MK-82 and Shelter Penetrating Bombs, which are most frequently used in unmanned aerial vehicles. The developed oleo-pneumatic landing gear will also be able to carry take-off and landing loads on the aircraft.
The ANKA III system has been developed to take the lead role in many missions with its high carrying capacity, numerous internal and external ammunition stations and low visibility design. ANKA III will perform missions such as reconnaissance, surveillance and intelligence, attack with different air-ground munitions, prey scanning by engaging UAVs, and neutralizing enemy RF emitting radar and air defense systems. In addition, it will be able to perform a range of missions such as air and ground protection of friendly forces, signal and communication intelligence, electronic warfare, operations with other friendly elements and communication relay.
