Baykar’s AKINCI UCAV has reached 50000 flight hours ever since its first flight in 2019, achieving many milestones in the process.
The five years of AKINCI UCAV’s adventures include exports, demonstrations, operational use, and integration of many new payloads. Some of the milestones with AKINCI UCAV include:
• Breaking the national altitude record by reaching 45118 ft altitude
• Flight alongside KIZILELMA unmanned combat aircraft and an Azerbaijani MiG-29 fighter
• Assistance with rescue, coordination, and damage assessment following the 2023 earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş
• Taking part in counter-terrorism operations
• Participating in various military exercises
• Integration of various guidance kits for Mk-series bombs
• The maiden flight of AKINCI-C sporting two 850 hp turboprop engines in 2024
• Integration of ASELFLIR-500 electro-optical system, a successor to CATS
• Export to nine countries, including Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Burkina Faso
Some of ROKETSAN’s newest munitions were tested on AKINCI between 2023 and 2024 Q1. These include the ÇAKIR lightweight cruise missile, TV seeker MAM-L, IIR seeker MAM-T, and UAV-122/230 supersonic air-launched ballistic missiles.
Plans for AKINCI in the near term include more new payloads (LAÇİN IIR guidance kit, SOM cruise missile, EW Pod, MURAD AESA radar…) and electronic warfare variants within the scope of the UAV-SOJ project.
AKINCI is currently in service with the Turkish Air Forces, Land Forces, and the National Intelligence Organisation. Saudi Arabia, like Turkiye, intends to implement AKINCI as a multi-service platform for its Navy and Air Forces.
