Engineering:TAI Şimşek
| TAI Şimşek | |
|---|---|
| |
| TAI Şimşek, render image | |
| Role | Unmanned drone target drone |
| Manufacturer | Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) |
| First flight | August 4, 2012 |
| Primary user | Turkish Armed Forces |
TAI Şimşek is a turbojet-powered radio-controlled high-speed target drone designed, developed and built by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) between 2009-2012 for the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces.
Şimşek is the Turkish word for "lightning".
Overview
Development started in 2009, and a prototype was presented to the public at the International Defence Industry Fair the same year.[1] The UAV made its maiden flight on August 4, 2012.[2]
Şimşek simulates enemy aircraft and missiles for air-to-air, surface-to-air, anti-aircraft gunnery and missile systems’ tracking and firing training.[3] It looks like tactical air-launched decoys (TALDs).[4]
TAI intends to further develop the drone into a cruise missile with "Human-in-the-Loop" (HITL) guidance capability for use against mobile or fixed soft targets.[4]
Payloads of TAI Şimşek consists of following features:[3]
- Passive Radar Cross-Section Augmenter (Luneburg lens)
- Passive IR Signature
- Miss Distance Indicator (MDI)
- Counter-measures Dispensing System
- Tracking Smoke Generator
The drone is launched from a catapult and recovered by parachute. It can take off and can be controlled from navy vessels.[3]
In July 2020 TAI launched Şimşek from TAI Anka integrated arm and made history by launching the target drone from UAV for the first time.[5][6]
Specifications
Data from Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI[3]
General characteristics
- Crew: 0
- Wingspan: 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 740 km/h (460 mph, 400 kn)
- Endurance: 60 min
- Service ceiling: 4,500 m (14,800 ft)
References
- ↑ "TAI Şimşek İnsansız Hava Aracı" (in Turkish). Daily Motion. 8 October 2009. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xaqxrn_tai-yimyek-ynsansyz-hava-aracy_shortfilms#.URovyYYpTMc. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
- ↑ "Şimşek İlk Kez Havalandı" (in Turkish). TRT Haber. 2012-08-09. http://www.trthaber.com/haber/gundem/simsek-ilk-kez-havalandi-51403.html. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Programs-UAV Systems-Target Drone Systems-Şimşek". TAI. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20121103193025/http://www.tai.com.tr/en/project/simsek. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "An overview of Turkish UAV R&D and production-TAI Simsek high-speed target drone". TR Defence. 2010-11-21. http://www.trdefence.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=375. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
- ↑ "Türkiye 'Şimşek' ile dünyada bir ilke imza attı" (in tr). 14 July 2020. https://www.trthaber.com/haber/gundem/turkiye-simsek-ile-dunyada-bir-ilke-imza-atti-501444.html.
- ↑ "ŞİMŞEK target drone system integrated into ANKA UAV" (in en-US). 2020-07-13. https://en.defenceturk.net/simsek-target-drone-system-integrated-into-anka-uav/.
External links
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