Anka - Photo:Hürriyet
According to an executive at Turkish Aerospace Industries, the new Egyptian government is interested in buying unmanned aircraft made in Turkey. Some Middle East countries prefer Turkey rather than Israel or the US, defence experts say. Egypt is interested in buying the Anka UAS from Turkish Aerospace Industries. Egyptian and Turkish authorities talked about a possible future agreement to sell made-in-Turkey unmanned aircraft to Egypt during the visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Egypt last week.
“Many countries in the Middle East, ranging from North African countries to Saudi Arabia, are interested in the Anka Male [medium altitude, long endurance] unmanned aircraft system that we produce,” the Vice President of Turkish Aerospace Industries, or TAI’s, Integrated Aircraft Systems Özcan Ertem told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview on Monday.
Ertem said a large number of countries – especially in the Middle East – have been closely following the developments in the production of UAS in Turkey. “I believe once the airworthiness and qualification testing period is over, there will be a high potential market for us to export our Ankas,” he said. “But we can only sell to countries that our government considers appropriate.”
The production process of the first series of UAS is over now, and Anka has already started its flight test campaign, according to Ertem. The testing period with electro-optic sensors is expected to be concluded in the spring.
Compared to the U.S.-made Predator and the Israel-made Heron, the Anka is a larger UAS and has the capacity to carry heavier loads, Ertem said. “The Anka has the capacity to carry up to 500 kilograms of sensors and fuel. Besides, different than our competitors, we have chosen a special engine system that runs on jet fuel, because it is available at every air base.”
There are three countries in the world that produce similar UAS: Israel, the U.S. and Turkey. There are almost 15 countries interested in buying Turkey’s version of the UAS, and because of political reasons, some countries in the Middle East prefer Turkey rather than Israel or the US, defence experts say.
Source: Hürriyet Daily News