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UNMANNED SYSTEMS Date Posted: 16-May-2012 International Defence Review

TAI expands Anka test envelope Huw Williams Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has started the final stages of testing the automatic take-off and landing (ATOL) system developed for the Anka unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The system's test envelope is being expanded to its ultimate requirement of operating in 15 kt crosswinds, Remzi Barlas, TAI's engineering manager for UAV systems, told IHS Jane's . Barlas confirmed that the platform had already successfully completed tests in crosswinds of 9-10 kt, sometimes stronger. The only significant problems in the development of Anka had been with the ATOL system - several crashes had occurred during landings - but these were not major and the original aircraft build remained in use. Of the more than 50 test flights so far, Barlas said 30 had used the ATOL capability. The final round of tests, which started on 14 May, is planned to include assessment of Anka's datalink to a range of 200 km, Barlas said. Previously, the datalink - which transmits in the Ku and C bands - has only been tested to this range on a manned surrogate aircraft. It was only in February 2012 that Anka received its primary Aselsan AselFLIR-300T payload, which provides it with electro-optical and infrared imaging capabilities, as well as a laser designator and laser rangefinder. Flight tests are taking place at a Turkish Air Force auxiliary base near Ankara, Barlas said, and have been made in various weather conditions. Night flights are scheduled to start in June. Barlas said that the synthetic aperture radar, destined for the Block II Anka, is undergoing testing on the surrogate aircraft. The Block I variant is intended to feature the AselFLIR-300T only. The Turkish Air Force will operate the Anka for all three services of the military and, according to Barlas, is set to place a low-rate initial-production order for 10 aircraft when acceptance tests are complete. Anka features a monocoque fuselage with detachable wings and a V-shaped tail. It has a wingspan of 17.3 m and length of 8 m, with the whole package designed for transportation in a C-130 Hercules. The aircraft is fitted with a Thielert Centurion heavy-fuel engine that produces 155 hp, which also equips General Atomics' MQ-1C UAV. The projected operational performance of Anka is an endurance of 24 hours and a ceiling of 30,000 ft.

Anka is the aircraft component of the TIHA (the Turkish designation for medium-altitude long-endurance [MALE]) system, which in its full form is designed to comprise three air vehicles, a truck-mounted ground control station, an encrypted portable video terminal, a trailer-mounted power generator, an allweather radar-based ATOL system with digital GPS back-up, a truck-mounted image exploitation system, and a ground data terminal supplied by Turkey's Savronik. The number of personnel required to operate the system is yet to be determined, although the intention is for a pilot and a systems operator to control it.

Copyright IHS Global Limited, 2012

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