The third prototype for Turkey’s state-of-the-art unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) Akıncı has completed its maiden flight, the manufacturer said in a statement.
Selçuk Bayraktar, the chief technology officer (CTO) of Baykar, on Saturday shared the statement on Twitter.
He said the Akıncı PT-3, the third prototype, successfully completed its first flight.
Earlier in mid-March, the UCAV’s second prototype passed a Developed System Identification Test.
The second prototype completed its first test flight last August at the Çorlu Airport Base Command, in northwestern Turkey's Tekirdağ province.
Bayraktar said last month that the company will soon begin mass production of the domestically made UCAV.
Akıncı is expected to be added to the Turkish security forces’ inventory later this year.
The drone can fly for 24 hours and has a service ceiling of 40,000 feet (12,192 meters), a 20-meter wingspan and the capacity to carry a load of 1,350 kilograms (2,976 pounds).
Akıncı will be equipped with the locally made active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and air-to-air missiles Gökdoğan and Bozdoğan, and will be able to launch several types of locally made ammo, such as standoff missiles (SOM).
