Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is looking to build on the work undertaken for its Anka UAV and further develop its rotary-wing capabilities.

The medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) Anka completed acceptance test flights in January of this year, having flown more than 140 hours since its first flight in December 2010.

Save for some issues with the automatic takeoff and landing (ATOL) system, and the loss of an airframe in September 2012 - due to a fault that company sources say was quickly identified and resolved - the Anka effort has been a success. TAI is now looking to leverage technology from this programme to meet announced and perceived requirements.

Speaking to IHS Jane's at the IDEF 2013 exhibition in Istanbul, Turkey, TAI's UAV Systems Engineering Director, Remzi Barlas, said the company is looking towards the Turkish Navy's GIHA (Sailor UAV) requirement for a shipborne capability, and is also developing a small rotary-wing platform.

Rotary-wing UAS were the responsibility of TAI's helicopter division until 2012, when an independent UAV unit was stood up. Since then, the new unit has worked to develop this technology, utilising the 10 kg R-10 testbed UAV to prove ATOL and autonomous flight capabilities.

http://www.defence.pk/forums/turkey-...ailor-uav.html