Baykar’s most powerful Akıncı UCAV yet conducts inaugural flight
THE LATEST variant of the Turkish drone magnate Baykar’s pioneering unmanned combat aerial vehicle has completed its first flight, the company announced on Saturday.
The Akıncı drone, powered by two engines with 850 horsepower each, took off from a flight training and test center in the northwestern Tekirdağ province for an hourlong stay in the air, Baykar said.
“Bayraktar #AKINCI is in the skies with its new power!” the company wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, alongside the video of the flight.
“Bayraktar #AKINCI C has successfully completed its first flight test with its new 2x850=1700 HP engine which will provide high performance.”
The total engine power makes it the most effective and capable combat platform in its class.
Akıncı’s A and B variants flew with engines of a total 900 hp and 1,500 hp, respectively.
During the latest test flight, Baykar engineers also successfully tested the drone’s aerodynamic parameters.
First delivered to armed forces in late August 2021, Akıncı is Türkiye’s most advanced and sophisticated drone that has accumulated 40,000 flight hours.
It has achieved a record in flight altitude for Türkiye and multiple export deals, including the biggest defense contract in the country’s history that was agreed with Saudi Arabia last year.
Baykar has sealed deals to sell Akıncı to nine countries to date, whereas its smaller sibling Bayraktar TB2 has been exported to 33 nations.
Baykar is Türkiye’s biggest defense exporter, having made sales worth nearly $1.8 billion in 2023, out of the country’s total of $5.5 billion.