The Turkish defense corporation Roketsan, which produces missile systems, showed a video showing the tests of the new Akinci drone, in which it destroys a target resembling the Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense system. The video was posted on the company’s Twitter.
However, in the original test video posted by Baykar company, the developer of the Bayraktar drone and the new one — Akinci, there was no moment with the destruction of the equipment. Bayktar announced the successful test of the Akinci drone on Twitter on April 22, the next day a message appeared on the corporation’s website. The Rokestan Twitter video came 14 hours after Baykar’s first post.
During the tests of the drone, the MAM-T, MAM-L and MAM-C laser guidance systems, which are manufactured by Rokestan, were used for the first time. The rockets fired from the Akinci hit the target “with maximum precision,” Baykar reported.
The Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile system of Russian design is intended for use against air targets, including low-flying targets, as well as for the destruction of ground (surface) targets and enemy manpower.
The system can be produced stationary, tracked and wheeled, as well as on ships.
On April 10, Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Taran and Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar confirmed bilateral intentions to purchase Bayraktar Turkish drones, which are manufactured by Baykar. The agreements were signed by the parties in December 2020.
Later, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called the sale of combat drones a “not against Russia” deal.
On December 15 last year, Ukraine and Turkey agreed on the production of shock drones for the Ukrainian army. The first batch of six drones was sold to Ukraine in January 2019, in accordance with the agreements between the former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Discussion about this post