Indonesia To Produce UAVs With Turkiye

INDONESIA will jointly produce unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)
with Turkiye, after the signing of a joint venture (JV) agreement between Republikorp and Baykar.

The collaboration was signed on Feb 12 by the CEOs of Republikorp and Baykar during Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Indonesia. It would encompass Indonesia’s coproduction of Bayraktar TB3 and Akinci medium and high-altitude long-endurance (MALE/HALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV).

A joint statement by president Erdogan and president Prabowo Subianto read, “Indonesia and Turkey will strengthen defence and security cooperation, including education and training for our armed forces personnel, intelligence cooperation, and counter-terrorism.”

According to Baykar, the firm holds 65% of the global UAV market, being the leader of Turkiye’s defence exports worldwide with its products proving their mettle in recent conflicts.

Additionally, Indonesia was also reportedly acquiring 60 units of the TB3 and 9 Akincis which would be produced locally. With over 887 hours of flight time throughout its testing, the TB3 can carry a payload of 280kg and an endurance of over 21 hours. The TB3 marked a historic achievement by being the first UCAV to take off and land on a short-deck vessels.

Last month, the TB3 attained yet another milestone, successfully striking targets with a pair of ROKETSAN MAM-T munitions using ASELSAN’s ASELFLIR-500 Electro-Optical Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Targeting System. With that, the TB3 will continue undergoing munitions integration tests.

Meanwhile, the twin-turboprop Akinci is capable of various complex missions, with a payload capacity of 1,500kg comprising various armaments, such as the TRG-230 Kaplan guided missiles, IHA-230 missiles, SOM cruise missiles, TOLUN-IIR guided munitions and various more.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:Baykar)