Japan eyes Türkiye STM's Kargu kamikaze drones.

Türkiye's Defense Technologies Engineering and Trade Inc., often referred to by its acronym STM, has announced that Japan is expressing interest in its quadcopter-style loitering munitions, known as the Kargu system. In an interview with GDH News on September 2, 2023, STM's General Manager, Özgür Güleryüz, confirmed that Japan has already inquired about acquiring the Kargu system, commonly known as kamikaze drones.
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STM Kargu Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. (Picture source: STM)

The Kargu drone is a 7kg rotary-wing attack drone designed for anti-terrorist operations and asymmetric warfare. Measuring 600mm in length, and width, and 430mm in height, the drone comes equipped with indigenous national embedded hardware and software. It also features a 10x optical zoom, built-in artificial intelligence (AI), and a user-friendly ground control unit interface. The drone can be operated autonomously or manually by a single operator.

Engineered for anti-terror and asymmetric warfare scenarios, Kargu can rapidly and effectively engage both stationary and mobile targets. It utilizes embedded real-time image processing capabilities and deep learning algorithms. The system includes advanced electronic ammunition safety, setup, and trigger systems, and offers various guided elimination modes.

Kargu has the capability to operate in a swarm of up to 20 drones, providing a massive attack potential. These drones were already deployed in operations along the Syrian-Turkish border as early as 2019.

The drone can achieve speeds of up to 145 km/h and has a flight time of up to 30 minutes. It can operate within a visibility range of about 10 kilometers for the operator. The modern Kargu drones are equipped with three types of ammunition: high-explosive fragmentation, thermobaric, and cumulative.

Kargu offers reliable day and night operation, guided elimination modes against targets selected based on images or coordinates, and the ability to track moving targets. It also features in-flight mission abort and emergency self-destruction capabilities, return-to-home mode with fuse safety, and advanced electronic ammunition safety, setup, and trigger systems. The drone can destroy a target at an adjustable distance and comes with original national embedded hardware and software, image processing-based control applications, and embedded real-time object tracking, detection, and classification capabilities.