The Bayraktar Akıncı UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle), developed indigenously and originally by BAYKAR, successfully destroyed an aerial target UAV during an air-to-air firing test using the EREN High-Speed Multi-Purpose Loitering Munition.
Bayraktar Akıncı continues to enhance its operational capabilities and expand its integration with different types of munitions. Having previously carried out successful air-to-air engagements with the Kemankeş-1 AI-based mini cruise missile, Akıncı achieved another milestone this time with the EREN loitering munition developed by Roketsan.
As part of the test activity, Bayraktar Akıncı took off from the Akıncı Flight Training and Test Center in Çorlu, Tekirdağ, and proceeded to the test zone over the Black Sea. In the test conducted off the coast of Sinop, the target UAV that had taken off from the ground was successfully neutralized in mid-air by the EREN munition fired from the UCAV. Following the successful strike, which resulted in the destruction of the target, the national UCAV returned to Çorlu by following its planned route.
Transferring its success in air-to-ground munitions to air-to-air missions, Bayraktar Akıncı reinforced its operational flexibility with this successful engagement using the EREN munition. The national UCAV once again demonstrated its strategic capability by effectively employing a wide range of munitions against both ground and aerial targets.
To date, within the scope of the national UCAV's development activities, the following munitions have been successfully tested: MAM-L, MAM-L TV, MAM-T, MAM-T IIR/TV, MAM-C, TOLUN, TOLUN IIR, Teber-81, Teber-82, LAÇİN 82, LGK-81, LGK-82, HGK-82, Gökçe Guidance Kit, Gözde Guidance Kit, KGK-82-SİHA, the UAV-230 supersonic missile, the TV- and laser-seeker headed UAV-122 supersonic missile, and the Çakır cruise missile.
Since entering the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces on August 29, 2021, Bayraktar Akıncı has been actively and successfully performing operational missions. The national UCAV also holds the altitude record in Turkish aviation history. On June 21, 2022, during endurance, high-altitude, and high-speed tests conducted in the presence of delegations from the Presidency of Defense Industries and the Turkish Air Force Command, Bayraktar Akıncı climbed to 45,118 feet (13,716 meters), setting a national record.
