Asian media reported that Indonesia had ordered 12 Anka unmanned combat aerial vehicles from Turkey.
The UCAVs are expected to be delivered to the Indonesian Air Force, which has been looking for an armed UAV solution for the past few years. Details of the deal were not disclosed. Turkish Aerospace Industries is said to have also received orders for Anka UCAVs from Algeria and Chad, for 10 and 2 aircraft respectively.
The Indonesian variant is said to be the Anka-S, which is a mass-produced variant offered for the export market. The TAI Anka has several vairiants although it is believed that the Anka-S variant would be the one being procured by Indonesia, being the serial production variant and being offered for export markets. Aside from being used as an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle, the Anka UCAV can be used for surveillance and can be equipped with radars and cameras.
Anka UAV is one of the most modern products developed by the Turkish aerospace industry, which currently being evaluated to become the standard UAV of the Turkish Air Force – working with air and ground units to form a modernized effective combat force.
Anka has a length of 8.6 m, a wingspan of 17.5 m, and a height of 3.25 m. The UAV is powered by a single 4-cylinder liquid-cooled in-line turbo-charged diesel engine rated at 170 horsepower. Anka can reach a top speed of 217 km/h, cruising speed of 204 km/h, range of 4,896 km, endurance of 30 hours, and service ceiling of 9,144 m.
In terms of design, Anka is quite similar to popular Western UAVs, characterized by a tubular fuselage containing avionics, fuel and engines. The turbocharged engine is fitted aft and powers a three-bladed propeller in a “pusher” configuration. A pair of outward canted vertical tail fins are situated to either side of the engine housing. The main wing assemblies are fitted at amidships and are high-mounted onto the top of the fuselage spine.
Anka-S is a serial production configuration of Anka. It is equipped with a SATCOM antenna and a national flight control computer. On 17 August 2018, Directorate for Defence Industries announced that the Anka-S completed its first live fire tests. The platform was tested with MAM-L ammunition developed by the Roketsan.
According to the information given by TAI, The ANKA-S UAV is equipped with an Aselsan Common Aperture Targeting System, FLIR System and a domestically produced flight control computer. ANKA drones, which can detect targets and perform laser marking thanks to the CATS electro-optical reconnaissance, surveillance, and targeting system, can carry four Roketsan MAM-L Laser Guided Munitions.
