Turkey's Baykar introduces vertical landing UAV at TEKNOFEST

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey’s leading defense company Baykar unveiled its newly designed vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the country’s largest technology and aviation event TEKNOFEST.

The new UAV does not need a landing track, it can take off from several different places, including naval or mobile platforms, Burak Ozbek, an air vehicle design engineer at the firm, told Anadolu Agency.

The UAV takes off by using its four electric engines, then it flies with its internal combustion engine, Ozbek explained.

Thanks to its hybrid engine system, the UAV can fly up to 12 hours, the engineer said, adding that its engine can also charge the vehicle’s battery, he added.

Its take-off weight is 50 kilograms (110 pounds) and it can carry 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of useful loads, such as thermal camera, laser designator, or distance meter, Ozbek said.

The UAV, whose wingspan is five meters (16 feet), can take off from a 20x20 meters (66x66 feet) area, he underlined.

“Its operational altitude is 9,000 feet (2,743 meters) but it can fly up to 15,000 feet (4,572 meters),” he said, adding its flying speed is around 40-50 knots.

- Indigenous engine

The UAV is an observer drone and Baykar works with domestic and foreign partners for the systems installed in it, he said.

Baykar said that the tested UAV is equipped with an engine produced by Turkish engine maker Erin Motors.

This engine has electronic fuel injection and it is much more reliable, he said, adding that there are only a few similar UAVs in the world.

The UAV technology is in direct proportion to battery technology, he stressed, and said its new versions can see higher capacity for carrying ammo.

Stressing that avionics, electronic systems and software in this UAV have proved themselves in Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci UAVs previously, he said Baykar uses the same systems for all of its vehicles.

He also said that tests of the vehicle will be completed soon and its mass production and delivery phases would start in 2022.