“TAI’s new Aksungur unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will be delivered to Turkish security forces within the first month of 2020,” Temel Kotil, CEO of TAI, was quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency on Monday.

Aksungur UAV showcased at IDEF 2019 (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The TAI Aksungur is an unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for the Turkish Armed Forces. Using existing technology from the TAI Anka series of drones, it is the manufacturer's largest drone with payload capacity for mission-specific equipment. It is intended to be used for long-term surveillance, signals intelligence, maritime patrol missions, or as an unmanned combat aerial vehicle.

Showcased for the first time at the IDEF’19 exhibition taking place in Istanbul, Aksungur carried out a first flight of just over 4 hours on March 20.

After completion of the Aksungur, TAI will start work on the Goksungur, a supersonic UAV in the works that can reach a speed of 380 kph. TAI produces UAVs. In Turkish, Aksungur means gyrfalcon, and Goksungur means peregrine falcon, the world's fastest bird.

Aksungur UAV showcased at IDEF 2019 (Picture source: Army Recognition)