Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation has instructed the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) to work out a draft for a new unmanned aircraft similar to a Global Hawk, Zaman newspaper reported.
According to the newspaper, TÜBİTAK intends to create an aircraft that can stay aloft for as long as possible and take some 500 kilogramme payload on board. Moreover, the new UAS will take pictures and examine the territory over which it will fly.
Earlier, Turkey manufactured its first unmanned aircraft system (UAS), the ANKA. Work on manufacturing the first Turkish reconnaissance UAS has been underway since 2004. About 180 engineers have worked on the project.
ANKA belongs to the medium-altitude long endurance UAS. Compared with the Israeli drone Heron, ANKA has a number of advantages. So, while Heron can raise no more than a 185 kilogramme payload to a 30,000 foot altitude, this figure for ANKA exceeds 200 kilogrammes.
Source: Trend