TR UAV/UCAV Programs | Anka - series | Kızılelma | TB - series

[Yasar_TR]

Akinci is a platform that definitely outperforms TAI's drone in all areas; Aksungur cannot compete with it.

TAI is state owned,it can go slow.
Baykar is not,it needs to earn to develop.

We mustn’t compare apples with oranges.
TAI is a state owned company with certain bureaucratic practices that can not be overcome easily. That makes it lethargic and not malleable like a private sector company as Baykar.

There is a fine and sensitive division of work share between the two companies when it comes to UAVs.

Small lightweight UCAVs are produced by Baykar. (TB2 & TB3)
Supersonic Stealth attack UCAVs are produced by Baykar. (KE)
High altitude turboprop UAVs are also Baykar’s domain. (Akinci)

Heavier weight mid altitude long endurance UAVs are produced by TAI (Anka-1 and Anka-2-Aksungur)
Subsonic deep strike flying wing stealth UCAVs are produced by TAI (Anka-3)

You can not compare Aksungur with Akinci. One is powered by internal combustion diesel engine, the other by a high powered turboprop. There is a version of Akinci with twin TEI-PD170 engines. It’s performance is not great, apart from it’s longer endurance. Akinci comes to its own especially with the twin 850HP turboprops.

 

[IC3M@N FX]

I don't fully understand the specific benefits of the Aksungur drone. It seems like a platform that is uncompromisingly optimised for endurance, but without offering a payload capacity or system diversity that even comes close to the level of the Akinci.

In my view, it would have made more strategic sense for TAI to develop a smaller "Global Hawk-class" drone – that is, a dedicated high-performance reconnaissance and espionage UAV optimised exclusively for ISR missions. With AI-322F engines and later a conversion to TEI-TF6000 or TF10000, it would have been possible to create a true high-altitude and high-speed platform.

Currently, there are many Turkish combat drones that can also perform reconnaissance tasks, but not a single platform designed purely for strategic ISR. Perhaps the Anka-S comes closest to this approach; it has been chosen very often for such missions, but even it does not achieve the flight altitude or speed of a turbofan-powered HALE system.
Akinci, on the other hand, is too large and not optimised for covert missions.

I also do not see the Anka-3 as a sole replacement for a true strategic reconnaissance platform – unless the design is made so modular that it can also be used as a pure stealth ISR UAV in the future.

However, a compact Global Hawk equivalent would be ideal.

 

[Radko]

Can we clear this topic from engine talks? I am bored of seeing the same thing every 2 weeks

 

[begturan]

When I look at the comments made, I see that it is impossible for Baykar Motor to develop a 20,000 lb engine, the possibility that they are working on 2xTF10000 is reasonable in the medium/short term. Logically, even if this Baykar engine gets technical support from sich and TEI, it is futile to expect it to run before it can crawl and walk.

Two 10,000 lb engines will provide an extra payload, more fuel, and greater maneuverability. The aircraft will accelerate from subsonic to hypersonic speeds, achieving faster climb, better maneuverability, and higher altitude.

This will give Kızılelma deeper capabilities in its operations with Kaan, especially in terms of range, and will significantly reduce Kaan's workload. More options in flexible payload decoy/logistics/munition/EW combinations.