Stealth aircraft. Turkish Ucav Anka-3 drops Tolun guided bomb
Armament released from internal fuselage compartment: a first for Turkish aircraft -VIDEO+PHOTO
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) announced that its Anka-3 stealth Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) under development has successfully dropped a Tolun guided bomb (produced by the indigenous Aselsan), and "for the first time in the history of the Turkish Air Force, it did so from an internal housing in the fuselage". The all-wing aircraft made its maiden flight on December 28, 2023, and has already successfully released munitions from the external housing, TAI said in a statement.
Anka-3 took off from Mürted Air Base at 12.04, reached the target and hit the target "with millimeter precision" at the Konya Karapınar firing range, at an altitude of 20 thousand feet and a speed of 180 knots.
The Ucav has a take-off weight of about 7 tons, and thanks to its turbofan engine it can operate at an altitude of 40,000 feet and reach a speed of 0.7 Mach. Designed for reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence and attack missions, Anka-3 "increases the ability to avoid enemy defense systems by reducing its visibility to radar thanks to internal ammunition bays. This feature provides a key advantage on modern battlefields", comments TAI through its general director Mehmet Demiroğlu.
The video below shows, filmed from different angles, the highlights of the flight for the test firing with inert ammunition. A camera also filmed the opening of the compartment under the fuselage, when the operator of a ground control station ordered the release of the weapon:
AVIONEWS - World Aeronautical Press Agency