According to Turkish website Daily Sabah, Leading Turkish defense industry firm Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is to make its first Anka-S medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) export to Tunisia. The Turkish drones were purchased following nearly two years of negotiations. The financing of the export will be provided through Türk Eximbank. The bank is to provide $80 million (TL 627.92 million) in loans to Tunisia for exports. TAI will deliver three Anka UAVs and three Ground Control Systems to the Tunisian Air Force Command. Some 52 Tunisian pilots and maintenance personnel will be given the necessary training at TAI facilities in the capital Ankara.
The TAI Anka is a family of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for the requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces. The basic Anka-A is classified as a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV. Envisioned in the early 2000s for tactical surveillance and reconnaissance missions, the Anka has now evolved into a modular platform with synthetic aperture radar, precise weapons and satellite communication. The drone is named after phoenix, a mythological creature also called Zümrüd-ü Anka in Turkish. Anka-S is a serial production configuration of Anka. It is equipped with ViaSat’s VR-18C Highpower SATCOM antenna and a national flight control computer.
Like Block A and Block B, Anka-S will be powered by Thielert Centurion 2.0S. On the other hand, Turkish Engine Industries (TEI) has been developing a national engine, capable of running with diesel and JP-8 jet fuel. In August 2018, the Anka-S carried out Turkey’s “first satellite-controlled airstrike”. In December, an Anka completed its first flight with an engine produced domestically. In 2019, the Anka broke its endurance records, flying longer than 24 hours.Although Ankas have an operational range of about 100 miles, the Anka-S (satellite-enabled) is capable of flying beyond “line of sight”.
On 17 August 2018, Directorate for Defence Industries announced that the Anka-S completed its first live fire tests. The platform was tested with MAM-L ammunition developed by the Roketsan. MAM (Mini Akıllı Mühimmat, Smart Micro Munition) is a laser-guided smart munition system under production by Turkish defence industry manufacturer ROKETSAN. MAM has been developed for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), light attack aircraft and air-ground missions for low payload capacity air platforms.Roketsan claims MAM can engage both stationary and moving targets with high precision. In August 2018, the Anka-S carried out Turkey’s “first satellite-controlled airstrike”.
