09 Februari 2018
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Anka II UAV (photo : TAI)
Turkey closes in on T129 sale
Pakistan is planning to buy 30 T129 Atak attack helicopters built by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), said Tamer Ozmen, vice president for corporate marketing and communications, at this week’s Singapore Airshow. TAI is very close to signing a contract, he said.
In December, TAI also received an RfI from Thailand for the T129 with the possible procurement of eight or more aircraft.
Ozmen said TAI is also developing a UAV that will compete on the international market for HALE surveillance missions, similar to the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk. The aircraft will be able to reach an altitude of 15,000m using jet engines.
It is in the planning stages and the company is in discussions with potential international co-development partners, Ozmen said.
TAI is also in the R&D stage of the Anka II MALE UAV with the same body as the original Anka, except with extended wings and powered by two engines. The original Anka is powered by a single rear 155hp heavy fuel engine and has a maximum altitude of 9,000m.
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Indonesia interested in procuring six Anka UAV with two ground stations (photo : TAI)
The Anka II will be able to climb to 12,000m. Both aircraft have a 24h endurance. The payload will increase from 200kg to 750kg for the Anka II. Beyond the same sensor and systems payloads, the Anka II will also be able to carry two Mk 82 unguided bombs, he said.
Ozmen also said the first two Anka-S (SATCOM) UAVs were delivered to the Turkish Air Force on 1 February. He noted that all other Turkish armed forces are equipped with the original 200km-range line-of-sight variant, though the ground stations can extend it to 400+km.
On the international front, Anka has established strong cooperation with Malaysia’s DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies (DefTech) for a direct sale of the Anka UAV. This would be the first international sale, if approved.
Indonesia is also very interested in procuring six aircraft with two ground stations. Both Malaysia and Indonesia share challenging coastlines dotted with islets favourable to illegal maritime activities, such as piracy and smuggling.
(Shephard)
Turkey closes in on T129 sale
Pakistan is planning to buy 30 T129 Atak attack helicopters built by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), said Tamer Ozmen, vice president for corporate marketing and communications, at this week’s Singapore Airshow. TAI is very close to signing a contract, he said.
In December, TAI also received an RfI from Thailand for the T129 with the possible procurement of eight or more aircraft.
Ozmen said TAI is also developing a UAV that will compete on the international market for HALE surveillance missions, similar to the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk. The aircraft will be able to reach an altitude of 15,000m using jet engines.
It is in the planning stages and the company is in discussions with potential international co-development partners, Ozmen said.
TAI is also in the R&D stage of the Anka II MALE UAV with the same body as the original Anka, except with extended wings and powered by two engines. The original Anka is powered by a single rear 155hp heavy fuel engine and has a maximum altitude of 9,000m.
The Anka II will be able to climb to 12,000m. Both aircraft have a 24h endurance. The payload will increase from 200kg to 750kg for the Anka II. Beyond the same sensor and systems payloads, the Anka II will also be able to carry two Mk 82 unguided bombs, he said.
Ozmen also said the first two Anka-S (SATCOM) UAVs were delivered to the Turkish Air Force on 1 February. He noted that all other Turkish armed forces are equipped with the original 200km-range line-of-sight variant, though the ground stations can extend it to 400+km.
On the international front, Anka has established strong cooperation with Malaysia’s DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies (DefTech) for a direct sale of the Anka UAV. This would be the first international sale, if approved.
Indonesia is also very interested in procuring six aircraft with two ground stations. Both Malaysia and Indonesia share challenging coastlines dotted with islets favourable to illegal maritime activities, such as piracy and smuggling.
(Shephard)