The first flight of the latest ANKA-3 drone with a Ukrainian engine took place in Turkey. Informs Bloomberg.
ANKA-3 was developed by the state-owned company Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and is equipped with an engine from the Ukrainian company "Ivchenko-Progres".
The debut flight lasted more than an hour, during which the drone reached a height of 2,4 kilometers and a speed of 150 knots.
The development of the ANKA-3 has been shrouded in secrecy, and TAI first published photos of it in March this year.
The drone is designed to perform reconnaissance, surveillance and combat missions. It will be able to fly at an altitude of almost 12 kilometers and stay in the air for up to 10 hours, carrying a payload of up to 1200 kilograms.
The development of new drones is one of the priorities of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who seeks to develop Turkey's defense industry, in particular, to modernize the aging air force.
According to the agency, the debut flight of the Turkish-made Kaan fighter is scheduled for January.
We will remind: Earlier it became known that Turkey applied to the USA for permission to jointly manufacture the engines of the GE Aerospace company, which are used in F-16 aircraft, because it wants to install them on fighters of its own production.
The media also reported that Erdogan, during his visit to Berlin in November, could ask German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to lift the ban on the sale of at least 20 Eurofighter Typhoon fighters.
