Turkiye’s Homegrown Wing Drone Takes Flight, Signals Country’s Aerospace Ambitions

The sleek aircraft is designed to be able to fulfill missions where stealth is required.

Turkiye’s self-produced ANKA-3 flying wing drone made its debut flight Thursday, representing another milestone for the country’s increasingly sophisticated national defense industry.

The aircraft, whose formal name is the ANKA-3 MIUS (National Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle System in Turkish), flew at a speed of 150 knots or just over 170 miles per hour and climbed to an altitude of 8,000 feet. The plane took off at 8:38 a.m. local time and flew for one hour and 10 minutes.

“Our unmanned warplane ANKA-3, developed by TAI [Turkish Aircraft Industries], successfully completed its first flight today,” announced Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a post on the X platform. “Hopefully, our aircraft will make a strong contribution to the defense of our country with its advanced technologies, design and features.”

TUSAŞ tarafından geliştirilen insansız savaş uçağımız Anka III, bugün ilk uçuşunu başarıyla gerçekleştirdi. İnşallah uçağımız, sahip olduğu gelişmiş teknolojilerle, tasarımıyla ve özellikleriyle ülkemizin savunmasına çok güçlü bir katkı sağlayacak. 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/ElZaSoNRVo

— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) December 28, 2023

The creation of the plane is a significant achievement as few nations have developed a drone of its kind. The unmanned vehicle’s sleek, streamlined design is intended to make it more difficult to detect by traditional monitoring technology. Its internal storage bays can carry 1,400 pounds of weapons while its inner and outer-wing stations combined will be able to lift more than 3,200 pounds.

The remotely-controlled aircraft can make use of a number of weapons including the US-produced 500-pound Mk 82 bomb and Turkish SOM-J standoff missile, which has a range of 170 miles. It’s likely to be used for strike and surveillance purposes, electronic warfare, and the disabling of enemy air defenses.

The country is also producing the TF-X crewed stealth fighter, which may be used in conjunction with the ANKA-3.

Turkiye is apparently concentrating on building out its military forces with a broad range and number of capable vehicles, which the country may even choose to export. The approach represents a philosophical difference from the United States which increasingly focuses on a smaller number of vehicles with top-of-the-line capabilities.

In a recent interview with Sputnik, geopolitical analyst and former US Marine Brian Berletic noted that Russia is concentrating on quantity, manufacturing an impressive number of shells, aircraft, and other vehicles as its production capabilities kick into high gear amidst the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Turkiye is also hoping to purchase 40 F-16 fighter jets from the United States, raising the issue recently during a call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. As an alternative, Turkiye has explored buying Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from other NATO members, although any potential deal has so far seen opposition from Germany.

Erdogan has made waves recently with his strong criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the West Bank; Germany is a staunch defender of Israel. Concerns have also been raised over human rights issues relating to Turkiye’s Kurdish population.