Bayraktar TB3 Successfully Completes First Munitions Integration and Firing Test
Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar Defense has completed another critical stage in the development process of the Bayraktar TB3 UCAV, which can take off and land from ships with short runways. The company announced that Bayraktar TB3 has started munitions integration tests.
According to a statement released by Baykar, on January 18, Bayraktar TB3 took off from the company’s Flight Training and Test Center in Keşan, Edirne, equipped with two MAM-T (Mini Smart Munition-T) munitions produced by Roketsan. During the flight, the unmanned system, which uses Aselsan’s ASELFLIR-500 Electro-Optical Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Targeting System, hit the designated target with pinpoint accuracy in its first shot.
Bayraktar TB3 is the naval version of Bayraktar TB2, which has proven itself in conflict environments in Syria, Libya, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Ukraine. The unmanned system with its foldable wing structure and short-range landing and take-off features, was first announced by BAYKAR CTO Selçuk Bayraktar in 2020 and exhibited for the first time at TEKNOFEST in Istanbul on April 27, 2023. In the same year, Bayraktar TB3 completed its endurance, engine, taxi, roll, and wheel-cutting tests and successfully made its first flight.
In 2024, Baykar successfully conducted four take-offs of the Bayraktar TB3 from a land-based test platform designed to simulate the 12-degree ramp on the flight deck of the Turkish Naval Forces’ flagship, TCG Anadolu. Building on this success, on November 19, 2024, the Bayraktar TB3 successfully performed its first operational take-off and landing from the short-deck TCG Anadolu. During the test, Bayraktar TB3 performed a 46-minute flight at the intersection of the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea and managed to land without using any support landing equipment. The company described this as a groundbreaking achievement in aviation history. Shortly afterward, Bayraktar TB3 performed a second take-off and landing test from TCG Anadolu off the coast of Canakkale, further advancing its operational capabilities on naval platforms.
Bayraktar TB3, which has achieved 887 hours and 23 minutes of flight time during the test flights carried out to date, will continue its payload and munitions integration tests in the coming days as part of the ongoing development process. Following the completion of all test activities, Bayraktar TB3 is expected to be operational on the TCG Anadolu Amphibious Assault Ship in 2026. These advanced unmanned systems are then planned to be deployed on the MUGEM indigenous aircraft carrier, which started construction earlier this month.
The Bayraktar TB3, which is larger and has more advanced capabilities than the Bayraktar TB2, has a wingspan of 14 meters, a length of 8.35 meters, and a height of 2.6 meters. The new drone’s payload capacity is 280 kilograms, and its maximum take-off weight is 1,450 kilograms. The drone, which has six weapon stations under its two wings, can carry a variety of munitions, including precision-guided missiles and laser-guided bombs.
Instead of the Rotax 912 engine used in its predecessor, the Bayraktar TB3 is powered by the TEI PD170 turbodiesel engine, compatible with maritime conditions, manufactured by TUSAŞ Engine Industries (TEI). Thanks to its 170-horsepower domestic engine, the TB3 will be able to reach maximum speeds of 125 knots-160 knots and stay in the air for 24 hours. Due to its Line of Sight and beyond-line-of-sight communication capabilities, the Bayraktar TB3, which is expected to have a range of 1,600 kilometers (1,000 nautical miles), can be controlled from very long distances. As a result, TB3 will be able to perform reconnaissance surveillance and intelligence and strike missions against over-the-horizon targets with the smart munitions it carries.