Following the tests of ŞİMŞEK UAV and the RATO-capable ŞİMŞEK-K UAV in kamikaze configuration, TUSAŞ appears to be working on a dedicated design for use as a kamikaze UAV. The name for the upcoming kamikaze UAV AYAZ was spotted on the website of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, which is an entity of the Ministry of Industry and Technology.
Considering the limited flight time of the ŞİMŞEK family of multi-purpose UAVs, primarily meant to act as targets or decoys, AYAZ might bring a longer range and a larger warhead. For reference, ŞİMŞEK-K can reach a range of 150 km (Datalinked) or 500 km (Fire and Forget); with a payload capacity of 18 kg when used as a kamikaze UAV.
The war in Ukraine has given birth to a large number of turbojet-powered kamikaze UAVs, which are cheaper than cruise missiles due to a simpler guidance package and off-the-shelf components. Some examples of these kamikaze UAVs that can be given as UJ-26 Skyline from Ukraine and Geran-3 (Geran-2/Shaheed-136 with a turbojet engine in place of a piston engine).
Compared to modern subsonic cruise missiles, despite the same type of propulsion, jet-powered kamikaze UAVs have a number of key differences aside from low cost. Firstly, due to engines of lower performance, these UAVs are considerably slower than cruise missiles, reaching Mach 0.8-0.9. Secondly, the simpler guidance package -aside from lowering the cost floor- renders the flight pattern simpler compared to cruise missiles capable of autonomously navigating through terrain using their onboard sensors. Finally, most of these kamikaze UAVs are lighter than cruise missiles, which brings easier launch on the bright side and smaller destructivity on the other.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor: Özgür Ekşi
