TAI’s High Speed Target Drone Unmanned Aerial Vehicle “ŞİMŞEK” Realized its First Flight

Being the single technology center in Turkey in the fields of design, development, production, integration, modernization and after-sales services of air-space platforms such as aircrafts, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and satellites, TAI successfully performed the first flight of the High Speed Target Drone Unmanned Aerial Vehicle "ŞİMŞEK".

At its first flight, taking-off with a hydraulic launcher, circling to runway and landing with parachute system were accomplished successfully.

Initiated with TAI equities and TEYDEB support in 2009, "ŞİMŞEK" project aims to meet the requirements of high speed target drone simulating enemy aircrafts and missiles for air to air, ground to air, anti-aircraft gunnery and missile systems’ tracking and firing trainings.

With its maximum speed and maneuver capability developed with the experience gained through "TURNA" Target Drone UAV which has been taking part in the inventory of TAF since 2011 and actively used in all operations and training in recent years, and with maximum local contribution, "ŞİMŞEK" system will enable TAF training opportunities with more realistic scenarios.

With the experiences to be gained in consequence of the studies initiated recently with TEI for the development indigenous jet motors, it is aimed to use such motors in ŞİMŞEK at the test and mass production phases. The company officials stated that the local pneumatic launcher developments studies are also progressing successfully in addition to these studies.

General Qualifications of SİMŞEK

Full autonomous flight mode with Waypoint / Heading / Speed / Altitude hold modes including take-off and landing with indigenous "GCS Flight Control System" and "Autopilot System" can be achieved. With its radar track improver and jet motor, the tracking of the aerial vehicle by radar guided and infrared guided missile systems is possible. Owing to its acoustic system, the distance information between the aerial vehicle and the fired weapons can be transmitted to the Ground Control Station on a real-time basis and by this way the success of practice firing can be monitored. It has a Tracking Smoke System that facilitates the visual tracking of the aerial vehicle when necessary and has a Counter Measure Dispensing Systemthat misleads firing against it. These systems can be controlled from the Ground Control Station. With its hydraulic launcher, ŞİMŞEK has the ability to take-off from land or vessels without need any runway and to land securely on land and sea with its reusable parachute system if not hit.