• Defence Helicopter

  Philippines marks out favoured attack helicopter

  30th November 2018

  The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has narrowed its desire for armed helicopters towards a dedicated attack helicopter platform rather than simply an armed light helicopter. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Indo Defence 2018: Turkey looks east for first Anka export

  9th November 2018

  Turkish Aerospace made a statement at this year’s Indo Defence with a full scale model of its Anka UAV on display. The company is pursuing …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Regulation disappointment for Thales at Autonomous Warrior

  13th December 2018

  Despite flying high in France, the Thales Spyranger was left stuck in the Salisbury mud during the Autonomous Warrior Land exercises (AW(L)18) after coming up …

• Defence Helicopter

  Pakistan’s T129 deliveries ready despite delays

  20th November 2018

  Delivery of T129 attack helicopters to Pakistan is dependent on a US export license which is in process; unfortunately, that deal has hit a further …

• Digital Battlespace

  Elta’s Drone Guard delivered to Argentina

  4th December 2018

  ELTA Systems has supplied its Drone Guard C-UAS system to Argentina for the detection, identification and disruption of malicious UAS during large-scale international events, IAI …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Indra launches new UAS R&D projects

  5th December 2018

  Indra is launching new research and development projects to meet growing inspection and training requirements for civil UAV operators, the company announced on 29 November. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Phasa-35 team reveal plans to win unmanned solar sky race

  27th November 2018

  BAE Systems and project partner Prismatic have revealed more information about the Phasa-35 as they look to begin production of the solar-powered HALE UAV in 2021. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Naval Group selects Atmos UAV for UAS testing

  20th November 2018

  Naval Group has selected the Netherlands’ Atmos UAV for the testing of its fixed-wing vertical take off and landing UAS solution for evaluation purposes, the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Malaysia lays groundwork for ScanEagle 2 arrival

  23rd November 2018

  The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) inaugurated a nucleus UAS team on 21 November in preparation for the 2019 induction of ScanEagle 2s provided by the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  EDEX 2018: China-Saudi Arabia unmanned presence in Egypt

  4th December 2018

  UAVs from Asia and the Middle East as well as indigenous offerings are being shown in Cairo at EDEX 2018, among them China National Aero-Technology …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aurora introduces solar-powered UAV

  20th November 2018

  Aurora Flight Sciences has developed a solar-powered UAV called Odysseus for climate and atmospheric research. Odysseus is a long endurance, high-altitude system that utilises advanced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Japan secures Global Hawks and eyes Avengers

  21st November 2018

  Tokyo has committed money as part of its order of three RQ-4 Global Hawk HALE UAVs, with the US DoD announcing on 19 November an …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bahrain announces AH-1Z buy

  15th November 2018

  A $912 million contract for 12 AH-1Z Cobra Viper attack helicopters was announced at the Bahrain International Air Show on 15 November. Speaking during a …

• Defence Notes

  AOC 2018: Directed energy solutions for high-tech threats

  30th November 2018

  Directed energy (DE) weapons, such as high-energy lasers (HEL) and high-power microwaves, are possible solutions to higher technology asymmetric threats.  While the latter has been …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Skeldar's R-350 demonstrates MUM-T success

  20th November 2018

  UMS Skeldar and partner ESG have recently carried out a number of joint manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) demonstrations involving the 150kg R-350 for the German armed forces …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur [Turkish Air Force]

  Programme Background First Flight & Contract Award The platform's maiden flight was completed on 20 March 2019, and it was first publicly shown at IDEF ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Cargo UAV (Turkey)

  Programme Background Inception & Requirment Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) initiated a programme to procure VTOL-capable cargo drones in June 2018. These were planned for ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 (Turkey)

  Programme Background  Selection The Turkish Armed Forces are purchasing large numbers of UAVs from Turkey's domestic defence industry to perform ISTAR missions and provide troops ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur [Turkish Navy]

  Programme Background First Flight & Contract Award The platform's maiden flight was completed on 20 March 2019, and it was first publicly shown at IDEF ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S [Malaysia]

  Programme Background Inception Malaysia's desire to acquire a MALE UAV dates back to 2009 when it announced it would be the first country in the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Baha [Turkiye]

  Background Induction The Turkish Land Forces Command inducted an unknown quantity of Baha aircraft into service, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence announced on 25 ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Songar (Turkey)

  Programme Background Requirement The Turkish MoND was considering adopting several micro and mini UAVs to equip the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF). One of the systems ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S [Kazakhstan]

  Programme Background In 2018, Shephard reported that TAI had made another effort to promote its products to Kazakstan. Three years before a contract was noted, Tamer ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Akinci [Turkey]

  Programme Background Unveiling & Testing Unveiled at TEKOFEST Istanbul Aviation, Space and Technology Festival in September 2019, the Akinci completed its first flight in December 2019. In June 2021, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Akinci [Indonesia]

  Programme Background Naval Ambition The Indonesian Navy Admiral Muhammad Ali announced an initiative to purchase Turkish UCAVs as part of a broader strategy to enhance and develop ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur [Chad]

  Programme Background According to SavunmaSanayiST, reporting in April 2024, Chad received two Aksungur drones in 2024 following the Central African country's purchase of the Anka-S and ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Forpost-R (Russia)

  Programme Background First Contract Recognising the value of tactical UAS during its operations in Syria, the Russian MoD identified a requirement for additional tactical UAVs. ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 (Qatar)

  Programme Background In 2018 at DIMDEX, it was revealed that Qatar had bought six Bayraktar TB2 UAVs from Turkey. The deal also included three ground control stations, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S (Additional Units) [Malaysia]

  Programme Background First Three Drones Following years of exploring MALE UAVs and a few failed efforts, the RMAF clarified it wanted to acquire the three ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S [Indonesia]

  Programme Background Requirement Indonesia wanted to acquire or produce a MALE UAV to operate at different air bases around Indonesia to cover the archipelago.  Procurement Over Production Early ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  PD170

  The PD170 is a turbodiesel engine initially developed to meet the engine requirement of Turkish Aerospace Industries' indigenous Anka UAV. Development began in December 2012 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Bulut

  Launched in early 2025, the Bulut is a VTOL-capable small UAV from Havelsan. A development of the Baha, the drone is equipped with an electro-optical (EO), infrared, ...

• Loitering munitions

  Kargi

  The Kargi is an in-development loitering munition that Lentatek has developed in collaboration with the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK), Aselsan and Turkish Aerospace ...

• UAS: flight control systems, UAS: Integrated systems - uncrewed

  UAV Flight Control Computer

  The UAV Flight Control Computer is being developed by the Turkish Defence manufacturer Meteksan Savunma Sanayi for remotely controlling uncrewed operations. It comprises a Central ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur

  The Aksungur is a twin-engined MALE UAS manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for the Turkish Armed Forces. TAI completed the platform's maiden flight on 20 March ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S

  Anka-S is a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) designed to meet the requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces. The system has also been exported ...

• Artillery rockets

  TRG/TRLG-122

  The TRG-122 is a Turkish 122mm family of guided artillery rockets developed by ROKETSAN for the T-122 Sakarya and other MLRS platforms. The family includes ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Efe

  Efe is a lightweight, fixed-wing UAV designed for target acquisition. The platform was launched in 2006. 

• Trainer

  Hurkus

  Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries signed an agreement with Turkish Aerospace Industries in March 2006 for the Hurkus Turkish Basic Training Aircraft development programme. Three ...

• Air: UAS radar

  OKIS Automatic Take-off and Landing System

  The OKIS Automatic Take-off and Landing System by Turkish Meteksan Defence Inc. is a radar-based system designed for the automatic take-off and landing processes of ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Baha

  The Baha is a multi-role UAV designed by Havelsan. The system is powered by a petrol engine during the horizontal cruise and is supported by electric motors in ...

• Loitering munitions

  Alpagu

  The Alpagu is a fixed-wing loitering munition developed by STM. The loitering munition comes in several variants, has been designed for lightness and portability, and is ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  İhtar

  The İhtar anti-drone system consists of a radar, EO and jamming systems designed to counter mini-UAS and is available in fixed and deployable configurations. It ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-I

  Anka-I is a SIGINT/COMINT variant of Turkey’s Anka-S and is operated by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization. The COMINT capability allows operators to track, geolocate and ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Rotary Wing Cargo UAV

  Displayed at Paris Air Show 2023, the Rotary Wing Cargo UAV is a cargo-carrying and ISR drone manufactured by Turkish Aerospace (TAI). Powered by a ...