Angola Purchases Aksungur Armed Drones From Turkey
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) continues to make significant exports of armed unmanned aerial vehicles. Having recently exported a total of 24 ANKAs to Indonesia, Algeria and Chad, the company will also supply AKSUNGUR UAVs to Angola. This was revealed during a CNN Türk interview with TAI UAV Systems Deputy General Manager Ömer Yıldız. In his statement, Yıldız also stated that the AKSUNGUR UAV, which was developed in a short timeframe, of around 18 months, based on the ANKA platform and has the capacity to perform uninterrupted multi-role intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and offensive missions with its high payload capacity. Export contracts to Kyrgyzstan and Angola have been already agreed previously, but deliveries have not yet been made.
Ömer Yıldız talked about Aksungur’s export activities as well as expanding their production capacity for the system. Stating that 8 Aksungurs have been produced so far, Yıldız also stated that 6 more UAVs are on the production line. In this context, Yıldız stated that the production of Aksungur UAVs has been accelerated. He revealed that, previously, they could produce 1 Aksungur UAV in 3 months, but now they can produce 1 Aksungur UAV per month.
Unlike Angola, the head of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security, Kamchibek Tashiev, previously announced that the country had purchased Aksungur drones. Tashiev shared the news on his social media account, along with photos he took with a TAI Aksungur model, with the caption “Now Aksungur is ours too.” Apart from Aksungur, Kyrgyzstan is the only country that has purchased all UAVs produced by TAI and BAYKAR, having purchased Bayraktar TB2, Bayraktar Akıncı, and Anka platforms from Turkey.
Angola’s interest in Turkish-made unmanned combat vehicles first surfaced on 18 October, 2021, during a joint press conference between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Angola President Joao Lourenco. President Erdoğan made the following statements in response to questions from members of the press at the time: “On the subject of the defense industry… they had requests for us especially about UAVs. We said let’s discuss and deepen these issues. Then again, we held some meetings today regarding armored carriers.” President Erdoğan concluded, “our defense ministers will discuss with each other about what kind of products can be bought and sold… You know, we are not conservative on these issues, we said that we are ready to give all kinds of support. Our defense ministers will hold talks with each other, and we will take steps accordingly”.
The number of Aksungur drones Angola will purchase from TAI, as well as the cost and scope of the contract, are unknown. It remains to be seen in what role Angola will use Aksungur drones in but the aircraft are capable of conducting Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) missions and offensive operations day and night thanks to their EO/IR, SAR, and SIGINT equipment. This move, which will increase the country’s defense capability, and also provides Angola with the opportunity to build a significant air force without the need for a lengthy training period or the large equipment costs required to establish a conventional air strike force consisting of piloted aircraft.
Aksungur, which is currently actively used by the Turkish Navy, Air Force and Special Missions (National Intelligence Organization or MİT), has a length of 11.6 meters, a wingspan of 24 meters, a maximum take-off weight of 3300 kilograms, and a cargo capacity of 750 kilograms. Due to two TEI PD-170 turbo diesel engines with three-bladed propellers, the drone has 340 horsepower and a top speed of 100 knots (180 km/h) at sea level. The drone can fly for 12 hours with 750 kg of external payload during an Assault/Naval Patrol Mission, and 24 hours with 150 kg of payload during a Signal Intelligence Mission. Each of Aksungur’s wings has three pylons. From the inside out, they’re rated to carry loads weighing 500, 300, and 150 kg. Aksungur’s weapon options, according to TAI’s official page, include the MAM-L, MAM-C, Cirit, L-UMTAS, TEBER-81, TEBER-82, KGK-82, HGK-3, and the Miniature Bomb. Until now, the Aksungur drone has flown with 12 MAM-Ls in August 2020. Furthermore, Aksungur tested the TEBER-82 guidance kit developed by Roketsan for Mk-82 type general purpose bombs and the KGK-SİHA-82 developed by TUBITAK SAGE. Kuzgun munitions developed by TÜBİTAK SAGE and Sungur air defense missiles developed by ROKETSAN are also expected to be integrated into Aksungur drones in the future.