Aksungur

Turkey's twin-engine, twin-boom MALE UCAV: a Turkish Aerospace system derived from Anka for long-endurance surveillance, maritime patrol, signals intelligence and precision strike.

Overview

Aksungur is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicle developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries as a larger, twin-engine derivative of the Anka family. It is built around a twin-boom airframe, runway take-off and landing, automatic taxi/take-off/landing functions, and a payload capacity greater than 750 kg across six hardpoints, according to Naval Technology and Wikipedia.

The system sits between smaller tactical UCAVs such as Bayraktar TB2 and heavier high-end platforms such as Bayraktar Akinci. Its stated roles include intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance, strike, electronic warfare, signals intelligence, maritime patrol and a still-maturing anti-submarine-warfare configuration. Turkish service use began with the Navy in 2021, while confirmed export deliveries include Kyrgyzstan and Chad.

Development

Turkish Aerospace developed Aksungur from the single-engine Anka in roughly 18 months, retaining Anka-derived avionics and ground-control architecture while adding a new wing, landing gear and twin-engine airframe; early program references used the Anka-2 name, as summarized by Wikipedia. Two prototypes were built, and the first flight took place on 20 March 2019, lasting 4 hours 20 minutes and demonstrating automatic take-off and landing.

Testing continued through 2019 after a second flight on 3 April, followed by public unveiling at IDEF Istanbul on 30 April 2019. Turkish Aerospace announced the start of mass production in December 2020, and the first operational aircraft was delivered to the Turkish Naval Forces on 20 October 2021 with hull number TCB881 at Dalaman Naval Air Base, according to Naval News.

Aksungur's development path also includes an engine localization track. Early airframes used imported Thielert Centurion diesel engines, while production and later testing shifted toward the indigenous TEI-PD170 diesel; a November 2023 test flight with the TEI-PD170 reached 30,000 ft and set a publicly reported 41-hour endurance mark, according to Turkiye Today.

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