A Bayraktar Akıncı combat drone. Source: the Turkish Ministry of National Defense.
Turkey’s Bayraktar Akıncı combat drone has successfully test-fired a new supersonic, precision-guided missile, the head of drone manufacturer Baykar Defense, Selcuk Bayraktar, announced on November 16.
“Turkey’s first supersonic missile TRG-230-IHA, manufactured by the Roketsan company, has successfully struck its target at the distance of 100 kilometers,” the official said on Twitter.
The TRG-230-IHA is the air-launched version of the ground-based TRLG-230 missile. Baykar said that the new missile was fired by the Akıncı from an altitude of 7.62 kilometers during the live-fire test.
The ground-launched TRLG-230 has a range of 20-70 kilometers. However, the TRG-230-IHA will have a range of up to 150 kilometers.
The TRLG-230, which carries a high-explosive warhead that weights 42 kg, is guided by a GPS-aided inertial navigation systems and a semi-active laser seeker. In the test footage, the TRG-230-IHA didn’t appear to be equipped with the laser seeker. This means that the air-launched version may have a lower accuracy than the TRLG-230, which can hit a target with a circular error probable of two meters.
Still, the high-speed and long-range of the TRG-230-IHA should allow the Akıncı to attack fortified targets in well-protected areas from a safe distance.
The Akıncı, which has a wingspan of 20 meters, is one of Turkey’s largest drones. It has an operational range of 7,500 kilometers, an endurance of 25 hours and a service ceiling of over 12 kilometers. The drone was developed to carry out ISTAR [intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance] missions as well as C3 [command, control and communication] tasks and combat operations.
Turkey has been working to develop the stand-off attack capabilities of the Akıncı. Earlier this month, the drone test-fired Aselsan’s Miniature Bomb, also known as Tolun, which has a range of more than 100 kilometers.
I think it’ll be better for turkey if they leave NATO, quit their wahabi ideology, and befriend Iran and their allies. US is funding Kurds to kill their nato ally
Fakk jerkey! let them sink..
Die USA sind selber Pleite. Wen wollen die noch finanzieren? Die sollten lieber das amerikanische Volk finanzieren.
More turkey squawking. Meanwhile the turkeys are without plumbing in Turkeystan proper.
Excellent missile. Turks make very good weapons. This system is something Russians don’t have; long range UCAV with supersonic missile with range of 100+ kms.
SF, that’s not a hypersonic, but a supersonic missile. The differences should be known and obvious.
Soon, the hypersonic will come.