You can read the special coverage published in the November 2019 Issue of MSI Turkish Defence Review here:
Altınay has recently developed many new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), once again demonstrating its competence in this field. Unveiling these UAVs for the first time at TEKNOFEST Istanbul, held on September 17–22, the company was among the rare companies in the sector that brought a new product to the event.
Focusing on technology-oriented products, Altınay has achieved significant success in having the UAVs it has developed through domestic collaborations enter the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF). Not satisfied with this success, the company has recently refocused its efforts, developing different systems such as a UAV-Hunting UAV and a Cargo UAV, which can fill very important gaps in the market. The company had unveiled some of these products at IDEF’19 in May, and others at TEKNOFEST Istanbul. The common feature of these UAVs, namely ALBATROS, SUMRU, DOĞAN, KARTAL, EBABİL, BAYKUŞ and KIRLANGIÇ, is their use of electric motor.
ALTINAY ALBATROS Can Carry Cargo, the Injured or Weapons
Altınay has developed ALBATROS especially for cargo missions. The main module of ALTINAY ALBATROS, which has a scalable and modular architecture, contains a cargo compartment with a carrying capacity of 50 kg, powered by eight motors. However, when two ALTINAY ALBATROS modules, each with its own battery, are combined, a UAV with 16 motors and a carrying capacity of 100 kg emerges. Similarly, when three modules are combined, the carrying capacity reaches 150 kg, although in this case it is sufficient to add only four more motors to the existing 16 motors. ALTINAY ALBATROS can remain aloft for 60 minutes in all three configurations, can reach an altitude of 10,000 ft or can fly distances of 30 km.
Each ALTINAY ALBATROS module can carry many different payloads, besides the cargo, including, but not limited to:
- Turret with a 5.56 mm MicroGun, fed by a flex-chute
- Two assault rifle turrets with magazine feeders, operating independently of each other
- 25 rounds of 1.2 kg RİHAM (Roketsan’s UAV Ammunition)
- 12 MARAGAY Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), developed by Altınay
- Three VAŞAK UGVs, developed by Altınay
Users can mix these payloads and cargo modules in any configuration to meet their specific needs. For example, a three-module ALTINAY ALBATROS can feature two cargo modules and one MicroGun. In addition, the two- or three-module versions of ALTINAY ALBATROS, with their respective 100 and 150 kg carrying capacities, can also be used for the transfer of the injured. A user that buys a single UAV, in fact, obtains a platform that can perform many different tasks.
Altınay developed ALTINAY SUMRU as a UAV with vertical landing and take-off and efficient level flight capabilities, eliminating the need for a prepared runway, while at the same time having a long range. ALTINAY SUMRU is powered by four motors mounted on four separate arms that allow vertical landing and take-off, but has also wings and a tail propeller, like a regular fixed-wing aircraft, allowing also level flight.
ALTINAY SUMRU, which takes off vertically like regular multi-rotor UAVs, continues its flight using the fixed wing feature, ensuring an efficient flight. Once it has completed its mission, it approaches the landing area and switches once again to its multi-rotor mode, performing a vertical landing in the desired spot. In short, it flies as efficiently as a fixed-wing UAV, but can land on and take off without the need for a long runway, like a multi-rotor UAV.
The maximum take-off weight of ALTINAY SUMRU is 120 kilograms, carrying a 40 kg payload and reaching altitudes of 8,000 feet. Its maximum speed is 120 km/h. It can remain aloft for six hours and fly a total of 80 km.
ALTINAY KARTAL can be defined as a UAV that is equipped for the hunting of other UAVs, can bring down other UAVs in the air through its integrated and stabilised net gun. ALTINAY KARTAL, to which the thrown net is tethered, can also capture the target UAV if requested by the operator. ALTINAY KARTAL weighs 40 kg and can carry UAVs weighing up to 10 kg in this way. Although the net gun throws the net at low speeds, the mass of the net creates a huge negative momentum on ALTINAY KARTAL at the moment of firing. Despite this force, which can be compared to the recoil of a firearm, ALTINAY KARTAL is able to make accurate shots while both itself and its target are on the move. It is powered by a total of eight motors, mounted on its four arms. It is equipped with independently operated flight and fire control cameras, and has both day and infrared cameras, allowing it to carry out missions at any time.
Altınay’s first firing tests with KARTAL have been completed successfully. Speaking about ALTINAY KARTAL, Metin Erdoğan, Business Development and Engineering Director at Altınay, said: “In order to catch another UAV with a short-range net gun, a UAV needs to get close to its target, and so a Hunter UAV needs to have very high manoeuvrability, just like the air superiority fighters, and we have achieved this with ALTINAY KARTAL.”
ALTINAY DOĞAN is basically the same platform as ALTINAY KARTAL, but instead of a net gun, it is equipped with a 5.56-mm assault rifle turret. The assault rifle is fed from a 30-cartridge magazine. Similar to ALTINAY KARTAL, it features day and infrared flight cameras, a targeting camera that can operate at the gun elevation angle, and a ballistic fire control system. The most significant advantage of ALTINAY DOĞAN over its competitors on the market is that its weapon system is stabilised on two axes. These features allow ALTINAY DOĞAN to fire at the targets it detects, having been designed for use in armed reconnaissance missions.
Erdoğan summarised the most prominent aspects of ALTINAY DOĞAN: “Similar UAVs in the sector are generally stabilised only on the vertical axis. In order for these UAVs to aim at their targets, their whole body must rotate. This is something that can be performed only by a highly skilled and highly trained UAV pilot. Similarly, since such UAVs have to be directed to their targets completely, their engagement envelopes are very limited, it is very difficult for them to fire at a target while in motion. However, thanks to ALTINAY DOĞAN’s two-axis stabilised weapon system, the operator can easily shoot at a target moving in a completely different direction.”
ALTINAY KIRLANGIÇ Ready for Swarm Operations
Altınay developed its KIRLANGIÇ UAV for swarm operations. ALTINAY KIRLANGIÇ, which was exhibited at TEKNOFEST Istanbul, is based on the UAVs developed by the company that have already entered the inventory. Altınay has developed new algorithms for the swarm operation of UAVs, and has worked on new sensors that allow the UAVs to detect each other’s positions. Currently, four ALTINAY KIRLANGIÇs can be controlled from a single centre and can carry out their mission in a concurrent and coordinated manner. Altınay emphasises that studies may be conducted to increase the number of platforms that can be deployed in swarm UAV operations, resulting in various platforms carrying out swarm missions together.
Altınay’s UAVs can be controlled from the Ground Control Station container. The Station is incorporated with an Unmanned Vehicle Management System, a Digital Operation Desk and a UAV Charging Station.
ALTINAY BAYKUŞ for Long-term Surveillance Missions
Altınay developed BAYKUŞ for users who need their UAVs to spend significant time in the air rather than to fly long distances. ALTINAY BAYKUŞ, based on the existing UAVs in the Altınay product range, is tethered to a ground-based power source. Unlike other UAVs, it is powered via a cable, and so needs no battery, and can stay in the air for much longer periods of time. It can be connected to a fixed power source on the ground or integrated into a land vehicle. In the tests carried out to date, Altınay verified that the UAV can ascend to an altitude of 100 metres above the power source and can remain in the air for eight hours without interruption. The company’s next target for BAYKUŞ is to achieve 20 days of uninterrupted flight.
ALTINAY EBABİL Can Deploy 1.2 kg of Ammunition
ALTINAY EBABİL has been developed to carry ammunition and to drop it on the desired target. The platform can perform a precise drop of 1.2 kg of unguided ammunition onto a target with the help of electro-optical imaging systems. The RİHAM, specially developed by Roketsan for UAVs, has been integrated into ALTINAY EBABİL, and is planned to be subjected to firing tests in the near future. There is no detailed information about RİHAM in open sources, but to make a comparison, it can be said that 60-millimetre HE mortar shells weighing 1.5–2 kilograms, including the main charge and the propellants, have an effective blast diameter of about 10 to 15 metres. From this perspective, ALTINAY EBABİL, when carrying RİHAM ammunition, can be understood to be a highly effective weapon system.