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Bayraktar Akinci has conducted successful firing tests with domestic munitions Alpagut and Eren, according to announcements from Turkish defense companies.
Baykar's domestic social platform NeXT Social shared posts about the firing of Alpagut smart loitering munition and Eren high-speed multi-purpose loitering munition from the Bayraktar Akinci unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV).
According to a statement from STM, testing continues on Alpagut, developed in partnership between Roketsan, Türkiye's rocket and missile center, and STM, Türkiye's leading company in tactical mini-UAV production.
The statement noted that Alpagut, integrated into the Bayraktar Akinci UCAV developed by Baykar, was successfully deployed against a target located at sea off Sinop.
"After loitering in the air for a certain period to conduct target detection and assessment, Alpagut completed the test successfully by diving. Following land-launch tests where it hit the target with pinpoint accuracy, Alpagut has successfully completed safe separation from the aircraft, wing deployment, navigation and optically-guided tests," the statement said.
Technical specifications of ALPAGUT Smart Loitering Munition System
| Operating Range: 60+ km | Target Set: Mobile and Stationary Air Defence Systems, Radar or Communication Systems, Command Centers, Light Armored Land Vehicles, etc. |
| Endurance: 60+ min | Integrated Air Platforms: MALE and HALE class UAVs, Fixed wing aircraft, attack and general purpose helicopters (i.e. Akinci, TB-3, AKSUNGUR, ANKA, Hurkus, ATAK-2, GOKBEY) |
| Warhead: 11 kg (High Explosive Blast Fragmentation, Armor Piercing and Thermobaric Warhead options) | Integrated Land Platforms: Land Vehicles, Unmanned Land Vehicles |
| Weight: 45 kg | Integrated Naval Platforms: Surface Vessels, Unmanned Sea Vehicles |
| Height: 2.3 m |
STM General Manager Ozgur Guleryuz, whose views were included in the statement, said: "Our Smart Loitering Munition System Alpagut, our domestic engineering work developed in cooperation with Roketsan, has successfully completed its test flight from an air platform following tests conducted from land."
"With its 60-kilometer operational radius, more than 60 minutes of airborne endurance, and day-night operation capability, Alpagut will create an effective force against mobile or stationary land and sea targets. I congratulate all our colleagues at STM and Roketsan who contributed to this effort," Guleryuz added.
According to information provided, the effectiveness and importance of smart loitering munition systems have been increasing recently, with wars and conflicts experienced in different geographies.
STM and Roketsan are working to jointly develop Alpagut with the goal of producing a new and effective solution to this need from the field.
Alpagut, capable of day and night operations, will create an effective force against mobile or stationary land and sea targets, radar and communication systems, lightly armored land or sea vehicles, critical facilities such as command centers, personnel and opportunity targets.
With a 60-kilometer operational radius, more than 60 minutes of airborne endurance and different types of warheads, Alpagut can be used individually and in swarm concept configurations.
As a system operating concept, after being fired or released, it will loiter in the air for a certain period to conduct target detection, tracking and target assessment activities, and will autonomously dive to the designated target with user approval sent from the ground to destroy the target.
Alpagut can detect and identify targets unnoticed with its dual-mode seeker head, is not affected by position jamming systems, and can be directed to point shots at targets with its precision guidance-control propulsion system. In addition to all these features, the system also offers significant advantages to its users with its fire-and-forget feature.
Alpagut also stands out for its ability to be rapidly integrated into manned and unmanned land/air/sea vehicles. The system to be developed is aimed at being a significant game-changer in combat environments by working integrated with domestic UAV systems to provide rapid engagement with mobile air defense systems, strategic ground elements and asymmetric targets, and with advanced navigation capabilities with image-supported sensor data support even in GPS jamming environments.
Eren high-speed multi-purpose loitering munition, developed by Roketsan, can be launched from UAVs, helicopters, land vehicles, ground-based systems and naval platforms to be used against low-speed cruising air elements, armored/unarmored ground targets and for anti-personnel purposes.
Eren will meet an important need in this area with its superior guidance capability, long airborne endurance and range of over 100 kilometers.
Bayraktar Akinci also recently successfully hit its target with Aselsan's LGK-82 munition on Wednesday.
Presidency of Defense Industry head Haluk Gorgun stated in his announcement on NeXT Social that Akinci, which combines high altitude, long airborne endurance and precision strike capability on the same platform in the sky, proved its power once again by showing pinpoint accuracy in the firing test conducted with LGK-82.
"This success, which reached the target with millimetric precision, is the most concrete indicator of our engineers' vision and our system integration capability. I congratulate our Baykar and Aselsan teams who contributed to this effort," Gorgun said.
Aselsan General Manager Ahmet Akyol stated, "Bayraktar Akinci’s sharp sword, the LGK-82, continues to prove itself in the field," while Baykar Chairman Selcuk Bayraktar remarked on the test: "Bayraktar Akinci LGK-82 firing test, direct hit."
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