BAYRAKTAR AKINCI DRONE

This Article is about Heavily Armed Bayraktar Akinci Drone, which is equipped with Artificial Intelligence Technology and it is Made by Brotherly Islamic Country “Turkey”.

During Osmania Caliphate, Special Commando Groups were formed in order to attack enemy soldiers during the war from different sides. They were also used for Intelligence gathering and raiding the enemy’s strategic locations along the borders.

These Special Services Groups were called “Akinci”. Because of the similarity in roles Turkey named its new Drone “Akinci.

Background of Bayraktar Akinci Drone:

Turkish Company “Baykar” Manufactured Akinci Drone locally. Started its journey in 1984. Only a few people were aware of the “Baykar” Organization before 2005.

In 2005 the company got a reputation on introducing Mini Drone for the first time. At that time Selcuk Baraktar (Technology Officer) said that the Baykar Organization will go far ahead in drone development and Turkey will become Leading Country in drone Production.

In 2007 the company handed over a batch of the mini-drone to the Turkish Armed Forces. Trials were conducted next year.

Selcuk Bayraktar is currently working as Chief Technology Officer of the Baykar company. Forty-Year-Old, Selcuk Bayraktar is also Turkish President Tayyib Erdogan’s son in law. He played a very crucial role in TB2 & Akinci Drone.

Baykar Introduced “Bayraktar TB2” Drone in 2014. Currently, dozens of TB2 Drone are patrolling Turkish Borders. TB2 drones currently in service with Turkish Armed Forces & Police force. Combat versions of TB2 Drone played a very important part in cross border operation against the militants in Syria & Iraq. Turkish Army used them in Counter-Terrorism Operations.  Twelve units of TB2 Drone are currently in service with Ukraine and Qatar also operate 6 TB2 drones.

Also, Read This: How much Pakistan spends on Defence?

Now, this Organization introduced Bayraktar Akinci Drone. Reportedly Two test flights of this drone conducted in December 2019 & May 2020. Akinci is more capable and can carry more weapons as opposed to TB2.

Akinci is equipped with latest & better “Artificial Intelligence Technology”. This drone can perform fighter jets operations on a limited scale.

Basic Features:

Akinci Drone with 20 Meter width is one of the largest drones of Turkey and it is equal to US Predator MQ9A in terms of size.

It has 12.2 Meter length and 4.1 Meter in height. Akinci can carry 1350 Kg of payload, 450 Kg internally and 900 Kg on external stations.

This drone can fly at an altitude of 40,000 Feet. Flight Duration is 24 hours and data link range is 150 Km.

The power plant of Akinci consists of Two Ukrainian Engines that generate 900 horsepower and provides speed up to 300 Kph.

In future it will be powered by the local Turkish Engine PD-222, which is based on PD-170 and Turkey is manufacturing this engine in collaboration with US General Electric. Notably, Anka Drone is also powered by PD-170 Turkish Engine.

Weapons Package:

This drone is a real multi-mission drone, as it can be used for surveillance & target identification for fighter aircraft.

This drone can be equipped with a variety of weapons. Turkish made smart micro munitions; MAM-L & MAM-C can be fitted on this drone. These Micro munitions are not only lighter in weight; their length is only one meter.

With the use of Multi-missile launcher, Akinci can carry 18 MAM-L and 24 MAM-C. Notably, MAM-L & MAM-C is 21 & 6 Kg of Weight respectively.

These micro munitions can engage targets at a distance of 8 Km. IN/GPS version can be fired up to 14 Km.

Beside these micro munitions, Akinci can fire L-Umtas Laser-guided anti-tank missile with an effective range of 8 to 11 Km. Furthermore, Akinci is also capable of carrying Laser-guided rockets, such as the Bozok & Cirit.

Avionics:

As far as avionics are concerned, Akinci is equipped with fully auto flight control system, with three redundant autopilot system.

Locally manufactured Line of sight & satellite communication network is used in this drone.

For Target Identification & acquisition this drone is equipped with Turkish Aselsan CATS forward looking infrared & targeting system.

Thanks to sensor fusion this drone’s navigation can be done without depending on GPS.

Bayraktar Akinci Drone is equipped with Electronic & signal Intelligence, electronic support measure and collision avoidance system.

Without the support of the ground support system, the drone can take-off and land through an auto system.

Salient Features:

If we talk about the salient features of this drone. Firstly it is capable of firing SOM-A Cruise missile that can engage targets up to 250 Km. SOM-J cruise missile will be fitted on F-35 stealth aircraft.

Secondly, In the near future, the drone will be equipped with short-range Gokdugan & Beyond Visual Range Bozdugan Air to Air missiles.

Thirdly, the drone will be fitted with AESA radar, that will provide a real lethal punch to this drone. However, the said radar is under development currently.

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Akinci is fitted with Electro-Optical & Infrared Discovery system. Thanks to this Electro-Optical & Infrared system, the drone can identify & track both stationary and moving targets, along with assessing threat level and distance in adverse weather conditions.

Because of several other systems, Akinci is capable of performing wide-area surveillance.

So we can say that the drone will be equally capable of both surveillance and attack roles.

We hope this article enriches your knowledge. Don’t forget to share your feedback in the comments below.

Know About this Drone In Urdu do Watch This Video:

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