On 16 December 2022, Bayraktar Akinci high-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicle (HALE UCAV) made its first test launch of the missile. The test took place near the Black Sea coast about 700 km from Istanbul. At an altitude of 7,600 meters, Bayraktar Akinci launched TRG-230-IHA. TRG-230-IHA is an air-to-surface version of the TRG-230 missile was recently developed by Roketsan to be used in UCAVs. The first supersonic missile launched from air to land in Türkiye took off from the northwestern province of Tekirdaq’s Corlu district and covered a distance of about 700 kilometers and reached the outskirts of the Black Sea province of Sinop. The missile flew approximately 100 km and successfully hit the target.
The TRG-230 is a guided surface-to-surface missile of 230-mm diameter designed and manufactured by Turkish company Roketsan. TRG-230 missiles have a range of 20 km to 70 km and are launched from Roketsan 230-mm Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher and other platforms with compatible interfaces. The TRLG-230 variant has laser guidance and its range has been extended to 150 km. The TRLG-230 has an additional seeker for laser guidance. It can hit targets marked by unmanned combat aerial vehicles. Its circular error probable (CEP) is down to less than two meters. The navigation system relies on GPS/GLONASS global satellite positioning system and inertial measurement unit (IMU). The range of the TRLG-230 was extended to 150 km, according to a July 2022 announcement.
Bayraktar Akinci (Raider) is a high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) being manufactured by the Turkish defence company Baykar. The first three units entered service with the Turkish Armed Forces on 29 August 2021. The aircraft has a 5.5+ tons of maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of which 1350+ kg is composed of payload. Ak?nc? is equipped with two turboprop engines which has two different types of thrust capabilities as 450 or 750 hp. Akinci is equipped with electronic support and countermeasure systems, dual satellite communication systems, air-to-air radar, collision avoidance radar and national advanced synthetic aperture radar.
The test was reportedly “another milestone” for Turkey, particularly in integrating locally-built ammunition into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). On 22 April 2021, Bayraktar Akinci unmanned combat aerial vehicle has successfully conducted its first firing tests. During the test Akinci was equipped with three different variants of the indigenously developed smart ammunitions, MAM. Mini Akilli Muhimmat (MAM), meaning “smart micro munition” is a family of laser-guided and/or GPS/INS guided bombs produced by Turkish defence industry manufacturer Roketsan. The test has also been the first public appearance of the Roketsan’s newest smart ammunition MAM-T. From July 6 to 7, the aircraft completed a test flight of 25 hours and 45 minutes, flying 7507 km and reaching an altitude of 38,039 feet or 11,594 meters.
