Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has completed the delivery of three HÜRKUŞ light attack and trainer aircraft and two ANKA UAV to Chad.
TAI has announced the delivery of the New Generation Basic Training Aircraft, HÜRKUŞ, and the Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV, ANKA on its social media account with following statements.
“We continue our deliveries. We have delivered 3 HÜRKUŞ and 2 ANKA to the Chad Air Force.”
On 10 July President General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno visited the country’s main air base to inspect the new aircraft, with a video of the event revealing all three Hurkus-C turboprops in service along with two Anka UAVs, also made by TAI. The Hurkus-C is the light attack version of the Hurkus trainer, and the Roketsan MAM-L laser-guided weapons also displayed on 10 July can be used by both Chad’s Hurkus and Anka aircraft. Chad also appears to have received Cirit laser-guided missiles.
New generation advanced trainer and light attack & armed reconnaissance combat aircraft HÜRKUŞ, which is expected to be delivered to Turkey, 54 in total, has also received orders from 3 different countries, namely Nigér, Libya and Chad.
The TAI Hurkus (Free Bird) is a tandem two-seat, low-wing, single-engine, turboprop aircraft being developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) as a new basic trainer and ground attack aircraft for the Turkish Armed Forces.
The Hurkus-C is an armed variant that can be used for close-air support missions. It is fitted with a forward-looking infrared sensor and has a maximum weapons load of 3,300 pounds. It’s able to take off and land on unprepared runways.
Regarding the ANKA drone, it was developed by TAI with national resources, including day/night and bad weather conditions; It is equipped with payloads for real-time image intelligence, target destruction missions for reconnaissance, surveillance, fixed/moving target detection, identification, identification and tracking.
ANKA UAV can stay in the air for 24 hours at an altitude of 30,000ft and can carry 350+ kilograms of payload. While it is estimated that approximately 50 ANKA SİHAs have been delivered so far, the production activities of the same number continue.
