Tunisian Air Force gets 2 additional Turkish-made TAI Anka UAVs.

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) achieved significant success in the past year, as stated by Bertan Kurt, Head of Corporate Marketing and Communications at TAI, quoted in an article by Yusuf Cetiner published on Overt Defense. With the introduction of their original products to the market, TAI received orders amounting to $1 billion. Moreover, they have been able to secure contracts worth $3.3 billion with 13 countries over the last five years.

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Anka-S UAV operated by the Tunisian Air Force (Picture source: TAI)

Bertan Kurt, in his statement, provided further details regarding the orders. Anka UAVs were sold to six countries, Aksungur UAVs to two countries, Atak helicopters to three countries, Hürkus basic training and light attack aircraft to two countries, and Simsek (High-Speed Target Aircraft System) to one country. Some of these deliveries have already been completed.

Noteworthy deliveries included four Atak helicopters to the Philippines, three Anka drones to Kazakhstan, two Aksungur drones to Kyrgyzstan, three Hürkus aircraft and two Anka drones to Chad, two Hürkus aircraft to Niger, and five Anka drones to Tunisia. Although much of this information had previously been made public by the company or the purchasing countries, it is the first time a senior official, Bertan Kurt, confirmed that Tunisia had ordered and received additional Anka drone systems.

Negotiations between the Tunisian Ministry of Defense and TAI for the procurement of Anka Unmanned Aerial Vehicles began in 2019. Subsequently, in the early months of 2020, the process clarified matters concerning UAV training and financing. Progress was made in the negotiations, leading TAI to surpass competitors from the United States, France, Italy, and China. Eventually, an export agreement worth approximately $80 million was signed with the Tunisian Air Force.

The contract entailed the supply of three Anka-S drones and three ground control stations to the Tunisian Air Force. Additionally, TAI committed to training 52 Tunisian pilots and maintenance personnel. The training for Tunisian Air Force maintenance personnel concluded in May 2021, and TAI delivered the first two Anka drones to the Tunisian Air Force in the latter half of 2021. It is believed that the third drone was delivered to Tunisia in 2022.

Anka-S UAV operated by the Tunisian Air Force (Picture source: TAI)

The TAI Anka is a family of unmanned aerial vehicles developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries primarily for the Turkish Air Force. The drone is named after Phoenix, a mythological creature called Zümrüd-ü Anka in Turkish. Envisioned in the early 2000s for aerial surveillance and reconnaissance missions, Anka has evolved into a modular platform with synthetic aperture radar, precise weapons and satellite communication.

The basic version, Anka-A, was classified as a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle for reconnaissance missions. Introduced in 2010, Anka was granted its first contract in 2013 from Turkish Air Force. The Force requested further studies in advanced uninterrupted intelligence, reconnaissance and communication technologies. The aircraft was set to a long development phase to introduce a national mission computer, national flight control system, synthetic aperture radar, indigenous engine and friend or foe identification system. Anka-B made its first flight in 2014 and completed factory tests in 2015. In 2017, Turkish Aerospace Industries introduced Anka-S and the aircraft entered service with the Turkish Air Force.

Turkish Aerospace Industries offers the aircraft in two versions: Anka-B and Anka-S. Anka-I was developed specifically for Turkey's National Intelligence Organization for signal intelligence. Anka has accumulated more than 90,000 flight hours as of March 2021.