Türkiye's new locally designed and produced unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), Bayraktar TB3, has passed another important milestone in its tests on the TCG Anadolu short-runway carrier by surpassing 100 sorties, while also conducting successful AI-powered testing.
According to a statement made by its maker, Baykar, on Tuesday, the tests of Bayraktar TB3, the first UCAV in the history of world aviation that can take off and land fully autonomously from a ship with a short runway, were successfully carried out on the TCG Anadolu.
In the latest tests conducted between May 28 and June 2, Bayraktar TB3's fully automatic take-off and landing capability, supported by image-based artificial intelligence (AI), was also tested.
Important capabilities such as visual line tracking, aircraft carrier detection, runway detection and landing angle estimation with ground vision were successfully tested.
With the latest tests, Bayraktar TB3 UCAV surpassed the 100 threshold and reached 101 sorties. The national UCAV stayed in the air for a total of 1,167 hours and eight minutes during its sorties on the ship.
The number of sorties within the scope of the general test program reached 709. During the long flight test on Dec. 20, 2023, the UCAV flew for 32 hours without interruption and covered a distance of 5,700 kilometers (3,542 miles).
Bayraktar TB3 successfully made its first flight from TCG Anadolu on Nov. 19, 2024, marking a first in the history of world aviation.
On March 25-27, 2025, the UCAV crowned this success with precisely accurate shots fired at naval targets with the Roketsan-produced UAV-122 supersonic missile.
In this test, the laser targeting task was undertaken by the Bayraktar TB2 UCAV in the air, thus successfully demonstrating the coordinated laser marking and target engagement capability of two different UCAVs in the air.
Bayraktar TB3, which has so far carried out successful launches with the national munitions MAM-T and MAM-L as well as the UAV-122, reached an altitude of 36,310 feet (11,067 meters) on June 25, 2024, with the PD-170 engine developed locally by TEI.
Bayraktar TB3 UCAV will be the leading unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in its class when it enters the inventory with its folding wing structure, as well as the capabilities it will have.
The national UCAV, which will also have beyond line-of-sight communication capability, will be able to be controlled from very long distances.
It will provide a multiplier effect in Türkiye's deterrent power by performing reconnaissance-surveillance, intelligence and attack missions with the smart munitions it carries against overseas targets.
Baykar, the manufacturer of Bayraktar TB3, became the export leader of the defense and aerospace sector in 2021, 2022 and 2023, according to data from the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) and the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM).
Since the beginning of the UAV R&D process in 2003, the company has generated 83% of all its revenues from exports.
Baykar, which exported $1.8 billion in 2023, ranked among the top 10 companies with the highest exports in all sectors in Türkiye.
The drone maker, the largest company in the world UAV export market, continued its success on a global scale in 2024 and realized sales of $1.8 billion, generating 90% of its revenues from exports.
Baykar, which made one-third of the sector's exports alone in 2023, made one-fourth of the total exports of the defense and aerospace sector alone in 2024, making Türkiye the leader in the global UAV export market.
The Turkish drone giant, the world's largest UAV company, has signed export agreements with 35 countries for Bayraktar TB2 UCAV and 15 countries for Bayraktar Akıncı UCAV.
