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The Turkish company BAYKAR continues to carry out test flights of the new Bayraktar TB3 combat drone. In this final phase, the goal was to achieve greater autonomy for the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) without reducing speed, and soon, take-off and landing tests will be carried out from TCG Anadolu amphibious assault ship Of the Turkish Navy.
Bayraktar currently has two Bayraktar TB3 prototypes. These aircraft, designated as “PT-1” and “PT-2”, managed a total of 272 hours and 47 minutes of flight time in various tests. The longest flights took place on December 20, 2023, reaching 32 hours in the air with a flight altitude of 20,000 feet over a distance of 5,700 kilometers.
The first baptismal flight took place on October 27, 2023 in the proving fields located in the northwest of the country and from there different types of flights followed. For example, the March 26 launch included the integration of Aselsan-made ASELFLIR-500, an electro-optical system for improved recognition, surveillance and guidance over long distances.
The next challenge will be for the Bayraktar TB3 to have STOL capability to facilitate take-offs and landings on short runways such as those of the Turkish Navy’s TCG Anadolu amphibious assault ship. In this sense, Selcuk Bayraktar, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of BAYKAR and Chairman of the Board of Directors, announced that he plans to start testing the Bayraktar TB3 on the ship this year.
The TB3 has a maximum take-off weight of 1,450 kg, with a payload capacity of 280 kg. This represents an increase in the capabilities and configurations it can carry compared to the TB2, which has a maximum take-off weight of 750 kg and a payload capacity of 130 kg. In addition, changes included the installation of a new 172 hp PD170 engine manufactured locally by TEI, replacing the previous 100 hp Rotax 912 engine.
Photo: Picard
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