Malaysian TUSAS Anka UAV Completes First Test Flight

THE Royal Malaysian Air Force’s (RMAF) first Turkish Aerospace Industries’ (TUSAS) Anka-S medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) completed its first test flight over Labuan, its future home base.

The Anka UAV’s maiden flight which lasted three hours was done ahead of its delivery to the RMAF to be operated by the No. 11 Squadron from Labuan Air Base. Malaysia ordered three units of the Anka-S UAV and control stations along with related equipment in 2023. The RMAF Anka-S would strengthen the Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities of the RMAF in carrying out strategic monitoring of East Malaysia and South China Sea.

With the initial batch of three units set to be completed soon, Malaysia will likely look to procure subsequent batches of the Anka UAVs to further boost the force’s maritime domain awareness (MDA) and persistent patrols to gather intelligence.–-shp/adj/dl (Pix:RMAF)