ANKA III, which conducted its first engine run in 2023, took to the skies for the first time on December 28. The fully autonomous flight lasted over an hour, during which all systems were tested, followed by an automatic landing.

Continuing its tests rapidly, the ANKA III Air-to-Ground Mission Aircraft has commenced ammunition flight tests. During its 12th sortie, it successfully hit the target with pinpoint accuracy using the TEBER-82 Guidance Kit. In its second test, ANKA III successfully carried out another test with the TOLUN munition.

ANKA III stands out with its low observability enabled by its flying wing configuration, high speed provided by its turbofan engine, and significant payload capacity in its internal stations. Its second prototype has also begun test flights.

ANKA III, with a takeoff weight of approximately 7 tons, will operate at altitudes of up to 40,000 feet, reach speeds of 0.7 Mach, and remain airborne for up to 10 hours.

In this project, which progressed from concept to first flight in a remarkably short time, nearly 250 engineers and technicians utilized AI-supported modeling, simulation, and flight control technologies.

Built on the engineering expertise and over 250,000 flight hours gained through the ANKA and AKSUNGUR programs, the ANKA III Unmanned Air-to-Ground Mission Aircraft will become a key part of Turkish Aerospace’s UAV family. With its ground systems compatibility, it will effectively meet the operational needs of the battlefield.