Turkey's Akıncı UCAV passes 20,000-feet altitude test

The second prototype of Turkey's domestically made Bayraktar Akıncı, a cutting-edge unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), has successfully passed the 20,000-feet (6,096-meters) altitude test, its Istanbul-based manufacturer announced Wednesday.

The combat drone completed the test for nearly 2 1/2 hours, manufacturer Baykar said on Twitter.

"Bayraktar AKINCI UCAV's second prototype, PT-2, successfully completed the Medium Altitude System Verification Test by flying for two hours and 26 minutes at an altitude of 20,000 feet today," a company statement said.

Baykar also shared footage of the drone during the tests.

Last December, the drone completed its first test flight and stayed in the air for 16 minutes.

This May, the drone landed at Çorlu Airport Base Command in northwestern Tekirdağ province for tests.

The drone's third prototype is being developed at the manufacturer's research center, and the first delivery is planned for the end of this year.

The first prototype made its second flight on Jan. 10. This particular drone can fly for 24 hours, has a service ceiling of 40,000 feet, a 20-meter wingspan and a capacity for carrying 1,350 kilograms (2,976 pounds) of useful load.

It will provide high flight safety with its fully automatic flight control and triple-redundant autopilot systems, the company said.

The drone, equipped with locally made active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and air-to-air missiles Gökdoğan and Bozdoğan, can launch several types of locally made ammo, such as standoff missiles (SOM).

The drone can collect and save data from its sensors and cameras thanks to its six artificial intelligence (AI) computers.

With its AI systems, it can detect land targets invisible to the human eye and fly without GPS.