The Turkish Aerospace Anka-3 unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) made its first flight on 28 December 2023.
A video of the UCAV’s maiden voyage was published on the website of the Turkish Defence Industry Agency (SSB) the same day.
Posting in X/Twitter, the president of the SSB, Professor Dr Haluk Görgün, stated, “We have introduced another national system with very high technologies to the sky. Our Anka-3 UAV will perform reconnaissance, surveillance, air-air and air-ground attack missions with its high payload-carrying capacity, tailless structure and low radar cross-section.
“As we enter a new year, we wholeheartedly congratulate all our engineers and technical staff who make us feel proud. We will continue to work towards full independence in our defence industry under the leadership of our President, Mr Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” he added.
According to a report by the Turkish news channel TRT Haber, the Anka-3 was airborne for 70 minutes, during which it reached an altitude of 8,000 ft (2,438 m) and a speed of 150 kts (278 km/h).
A tailless, jet-powered flying-wing design, the Anka-3 is intended to carry a 2,800 kg payload and have a maximum cruise speed of Mach 0.7 (864.4 km/h), an endurance of 10 hours and a ceiling of 40,000 ft (12,192 m).
