TUSAŞ’s ANKA-3 flying-wing UCAV has flown with a TEBER-82 GPS/laser-guided bomb under the wing. The flight test is an important step in making the platform operational and demonstrates ANKA-3’s stability as a flying wing despite the asymmetric aerodynamic behaviour. The observations point to an inert munition for testing purposes. However, there hasn’t been a statement on whether the test munition’s weight was equal to the live munition.
ANKA-III will be able to carry weapons with seven hard points in total. The external ones include four under wings (500 and 250 lb) and one under the fuselage (1000 lb); internal ones are located in the fuselage. The UCAV will be able to carry a payload of 1.2 tonnes in total. The munitions include guided bombs, cruise missiles, air-to-air missiles, and SÜPER ŞİMŞEK air-launched UAV. An electro-optical system was also spotted under the nose. ,
A targeting system’s integration, a test flight, and a munition indicate that firing tests will happen soon. ANKA-3’s common components with the turbodiesel-powered AKSUNGUR UCAV have likely played a role in bringing the UCAV to the firing tests stage quickly after the maiden flight on the 28th of December 2023.
The TEBER-guided bomb was among the first munitions to be tested by the AKSUNGUR UCAV, which might have made the software end of the integration easier. ANKA-III’s most recent flight was with its retracted landing gears, indicating that most of the system passed the required checks and controls.
