Turkish company Havelsan succeeds in launching Gurbag’s loitering munition from Barkan UGV.

Havelsan, a Turkish firm that manufactures the Barkan unmanned autonomous ground vehicle, is working continuously to add new capabilities to its UGV. The Barkan 2 gained the distinction of being the first in its class to integrate loitering ammunition, also described as a kamikaze drone. This was the first time the system was fired from Barkan's 2 version. Previously, Roketsan's guided mini-missile Mete was launched from the Barkan 1.
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Barkan UGV launching a loitering munition (Picture source: Havelsan)

While performing missions and activities with Barkan 2 in a 15km (9.3 mile) radius, Gurbag Defense's reconnaissance surveillance and kamikaze ammunition was successfully launched from a hydrogen-powered twin-launcher system connected to a single turret. The firing of this type of ammunition from a multiple launcher mounted on a UGV is a promising achievement.

With its electric propulsion system, the loitering munition can reach an altitude of 3,000 meters (1.8 miles), and hover for around 40 minutes above a designated area. Thanks to its modular structure, different payloads can be quickly integrated into Barkan, which has recently entered the Turkish Armed Forces inventory.

Veysel Ataoğlu, director of product development and production at Havelsan, said the loitering ammunition can be used in swarms: "We have studied the concept of using all systems as a swarm both on land, in the air, and at sea," he said. "The second purpose here is to ensure that 8-10 loitering ammunition can be fired at the same time, become a swarm in the air, and perform tasks at the same time with our other unmanned vehicles."

Defense News November 2023