The Bayraktar, a tactical UAS indigenously developed by privately owned Turkish joint venture Kale Baykar achieved a new feat last week, breaking the national record for the longest flight by a UAS. It flew for a total of 24 hours and 34 minutes becoming the longest flying nationally produced drone called the ‘Bayraktar Taktik İHA’.
The UAS had its first maiden fully automatic flight test on April 29 at a military airport in Kesan in northwestern Turkey. The company had said that test and two others conducted on May 3 were “perfectly successful.” The Bayraktar flew for three hours at an altitude of 18,750 feet during its first test flight. The aircraft has come a long way flying for over times longer with the new national record of the 24 hour flight.
The Bayraktar Tactical UAS holds the altitude record of Turkish Aviation as well. The system achieved 27,030 feet during a 6.5 hour flight test held on 14th of June, 2014 with full payload weight. With these two records, Bayraktar shows performance over its class which is close to MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance).
Kale-Baykar boasts that under the Bayraktar programme, the consortium developed various critical systems to UAS technology including the triple redundant flight control systems, inertial navigation system, mission control computer, various redundant servo actuator units, pilot static system, electric power control unit, a lithium-based smart battery, aerial data recording computer, video link system, tail camera, along with ground control systems. The Bayraktar has the capability of autonomous taxi, take off, cruise, landing and parking functions along with many unique advanced features.
The tactical UAS programme run by the Defence Under Secretary of Turkey is close to its acceptance and delivery tests scheduled to be within 2014 for the 1st system composed of 6 air frames and 2 ground control stations.
Source: Press Release
