Akıncı combat drone of Bayraktar at Teknofest, 17 September 2019, By Wikimedia user (CeeGee).
Turkey’s drone manufacturer Baykar has begun testing a heavy guided bomb on the Bayraktar Akinci combat drone.
On June 23, Baykar Chief Technology Officer Selçuk Bayraktar, shared photos of the first mass-produced version of the drone, the Akinci S-1, carrying a single HGK-84 bomb in its underbelly hardpoint.
❝Şimşek gibi bir semte atıldık yedi koldan,
Şimşek gibi Türk atlarının geçtiği yoldan… ❞⚡Bugünden;#AKINCI PT2 ve S1’in eğitim, test uçuşlarından…#MilliTeknolojiHamlesi ✈️🐳🚀🌍🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/epToB17Vap
— Selçuk Bayraktar (@Selcuk) June 23, 2021
Developed by Turkey’s TÜBİTAK-SAGE, the HGK is a kit used to converts bombs from 227 to 907 kg into precision-guided munitions. The system is Turkey’s adoption of the US Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kit.
The guidance kit is equipped with an inertial navigation system as well as a GPS receiver. Bombs equipped with the kit have a range of up to 28 km and a circular error probable of 6 meters only. The accuracy can be further improved with the addition of the CAMGÖZ semi active-laser seeker.
The heavy guided bomb will improve the fire power of the Akinci, which has an operational range of 5,000 km and an endurance of 24 hours.
The combat drone can be also armed with Turkish-made small-diameter guided munitions like the MAM-C and MAM-L. Furthermore, the drone recently test-fired the MAM-T glide bomb. The bomb has a maximum range of 30 km and is guided by GPS as well as semi-active laser.
Turkey has been actively developing the stand-off capabilities and the fire power of its combat drones. This will allow Turkish drone to engage targets like air-defense systems, jammers, radars, fortified positions and reinforced buildings in the near future.
