Egypt to order ten Anka UAVs from Turkey

Egypt is likely to become the first export customer for Turkey's Anka UAV - with more orders from the Middle East to follow, manufacturer TAI said.
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Anka - A medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) design received its certification from the Turkish authorities at the International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul. The name means Phoenix in English.

At the show, the company said it expects to finalise a contract for 10 of the aircraft with Egypt and should sign in June.
"For Anka, we will develop the mission computer and software with Egypt. Also, Egypt will produce parts " TAI general manager Muharrem Dortkasli said . "Anka has got a lot of  interest from the Middle East. We believe more orders will come soon," he said.
According to flightglobal, TAI is also working on the development of a turboprop-engined version of the Anka, with a payload capacity increased by 50%, and the capability to be armed with Cirit air-to-surface rockets produced by Roketsan.

The UAV, cost more than $100 million to develop and deliver, was officially rolled out in July 2010

The contract for Anka was signed in 2004 and the critical design review was performed in June 2009. The company has always argued that Anka was not a prototype but a fully fledged procurement.

It has an advanced composite design powered by a Thielert heavy fuel engine. It is believed to have a  24 hour endurance at 30,000 feet and a range of 200km with the current datalink.

Anka has a wingspan of 17.3 metres and length of eight metres. The max take off weight is 1600kg and a payload of over 200kg. The system is transportable on a C-130 transport aircraft.

The sensor fit for the aircraft is being provided by a Aselsan. It includes the company's Aselflir-300T EO/IR sensor.

 

 

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