Bayraktar TB3 SİHA Conducts Ongoing Test Flights
Bayraktar TB3 Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SIHA) Continues Test Flights
The Bayraktar TB3 Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SIHA), developed nationally and uniquely by Baykar, is continuing its test flights without pause. According to a statement released by Baykar, the total flight hours of the national UCAV have reached 272 hours and 47 minutes, with both prototypes undergoing successful tests at the AKINCI Flight Training and Test Center in Çorlu, Tekirdağ.
The Bayraktar TB3 SIHA, which completed its first flight test on October 27, 2023, in celebration of the Republic’s 100th anniversary, has successfully completed tests measuring system and endurance performance at medium altitudes. The two prototypes, Bayraktar TB3 PT-1 and PT-2, have logged a total of 272 hours and 47 minutes in the air during test flights.
The national SIHA, equipped with the domestically developed PD-170 engine by TEI, completed a 32-hour flight covering 5,700 kilometers during a long flight test on December 20, 2023. Additionally, on March 26, 2024, the Bayraktar TB3 flew for the first time with the ASELFLIR-500, a nationally developed electro-optical reconnaissance, surveillance, and targeting system by ASELSAN.
One of the exciting new features of the Bayraktar TB3 UCAV is its ability to take off and land from short-runway ships like the TCG Anadolu, thanks to its foldable wing structure. Baykar Chairman of the Board and Technology Leader Selçuk Bayraktar announced plans to begin tests for the Bayraktar TB3 on the TCG Anadolu ship in 2024.
With capabilities that include beyond-line-of-sight communication and the ability to perform reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence, and attack missions with smart munitions, the Bayraktar TB3 will significantly enhance Turkey’s deterrent power.
Baykar, which has handled all projects independently since 2003, has earned 83 percent of its income from exports, making it the export leader of the defense and aviation industry. In 2023, Baykar was named the export champion of the sector by the Presidency of Defense Industries, with exports totaling $1.8 billion.
With export agreements signed with 33 countries for the Bayraktar TB2 SIHA and 9 countries for the Bayraktar AKINCI TİHA, Baykar, the world’s largest UAV exporter, continues to lead the way in the defense and aerospace sector.
