Turkish drones have demonstrated considerable capabilities in the Ukraine battlefield
And now, the Turkish drone industry is starting to keep an eye on Asia
Just recently, the Pakistan Air Force released a video featuring various aircraft and weapon systems, including the Turkish-made Akinci combat drone
Pakistan is also said to be in possession of the Bayraktar TB2, another notable Turkish UAV
Earlier in March, the Baykar company revealed that it had signed two export contracts for the Akinci drone
Details of the contract were not disclosed, but it appears that one of the customers is Pakistan
The Akinci, is a high-altitude, long-endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle developed as a successor to the TB2 Bayraktar tactical UAV
which is currently the mainstay of Turkey’s military
According to reports, Akıncı has a maximum take-off weight of more than 5.5 tons while this payload is over 1,350 kg
Akıncı is powered by two turbofan engines with two different propulsion capacities of 450 or 750 hp
It is not clear what engine the Pakistani version will use
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
With the preliminary design phase completed in June 2019
Akıncı started engine ground run in August 2019 with a Ukrainian turboprop engine Ivchenko-Progress AI-450C
The flight test for the first mass-produced Akinci drone was completed in May 2021
following which the unmanned system was delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces in August 2021
During the test Akıncı was equipped with three different variants of the indigenously developed smart ammunitions, MAM-L, MAM-C and MAM-T
The Akinci drone can fire other weapons, including the Cirit missile, mini smart munition Bozok
long-range anti-tank missile system, and other guided bombs
In addition, the Akinci can also be used as a mother ship for drone-swarming attacks
According to the manufacturer, Akıncı can reach a maximum speed of 361 km/h, a cruise speed of 240 km/h
a range of 7,500 km, an endurance of 25 hours, a service ceiling of 13.716 m.
Compared to that, the Bayraktar TB2 can reach only up to 7,600 m and has a payload capacity of only 150 kg
The Akinci drone is equipped with an indigenously manufactured active electronically scanned array radar
a SAR/GMTI radar, a surveillance system, electronic warfare, and signal intelligence suite
and SATCOM allowing Akinci to become an UCAV as well as ISTAR+C3 asset for Turkish military
The drone uses advanced AI features to collect and process data received from onboard sensors and cameras
Given its considerable capacity, the Akinci in the hands of the Pakistani army could be quite a bother to the Indian Armed Forces
The Akinci would provide surveillance deep into Indian territory
It would give Pakistan a distinct advantage providing communication relay, and all-weather ground & air surveillance using its AESA radar