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Home» News»Turkish Navy’s UCAV engages sea target for the first time
Euronaval 2022
Turkish Navy’s Baykar-made TB-2 Bayraktar
Turkish Navy’s Baykar-made TB-2 Bayraktar unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) hit a sea target with MAM-L smart micro munition

Turkish Navy’s UCAV engages sea target for the first time

Turkish Navy’s Baykar-made TB-2 Bayraktar unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) hit a sea target with MAM-L smart micro munition from the maximum range (15 kilometers) during the Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan) 2021 exercise, the Turkish Ministry of Defence announced via Twitter.

Tayfun Ozberk 18 Mar 2021

“The longest-range firing to date from a UCAV with the MAM-L smart munition was conducted in the Mavi Vatan 2021 Exercise. Turkish Navy’s TB-2 Bayraktar UCAV hit the surface target in the Eastern Mediterranean successfully with a laser-guided MAM-L missile which was developed and produced indigenously,”



Turkish MoD

Mavi Vatan 2021 Tatbikatı’nda SİHA’dan MAM-L füzesi ile bugüne kadarki en uzun menzilli atış da yapıldı. Deniz Kuvvetlerimizin envanterindeki TB-2 SİHA’dan, millî imkânlarla geliştirilen/üretilen lazer güdümlü MAM-L füzesi ile Doğu Akdeniz’deki suüstü hedefi tam isabetle vuruldu. pic.twitter.com/6zXqBKCtxO

— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) March 7, 2021

On March 4, a firing exercise (FIREX) was conducted in the Antalya coast’s vicinity, and the target was located close to the shoreline, between the small islands. The firing unit, TB-2 Bayraktar UCAV, which took off from Dalaman Naval Air Base, illuminated the target with laser and hit the target with pinpoint accuracy with one MAM-L munition. After the MAM-L strike, an S-70B naval helicopter engaged the target with a Hellfire missile.

About MAM-L (Mini Akilli Muhimmat-Lazer) Micro Smart Munition

The Roketsan-made Smart Micro Munition MAM-L has been developed for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), light attack aircrafts and air-ground missions for low payload capacity air platforms. MAM-L can engage both stationary and moving targets with high precision.

Technical Specifications:

  • Diameter: 160 mm
  • Length: 1 m
  • Weight: 22 kg
  • Range:  8 km (15 km with Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System Option)
  • Seeker: Semi-Active Laser Seeker
  • Warhead Types: Tandem Effective Against Reactive Armor, High-Explosive Blast Fragmentation, Thermobaric
  • Fuse: Impact, Proximity

Use of UCAV at sea, a game changer ?

This FIREX was the first training to hit a sea target with a UCAV in close coordination with manned surface and air assets. The surface action group relayed the target information to the coastal control station that controlled the drone, and the UCAV illuminated and attacked the target itself. Deploying UCAVs in naval warfare, particularly in the littoral waters, will trigger navies to rearrange their tactical plans. Because small surface combatants, such as FACs, wouldn’t be able to hide between islands and land cover. Since the RF and IR-guided missiles cannot hit a target close to an island successfully, laser-guided munitions launched from drones can neutralize them without entering the surface asset’s stand-off range.

Besides, UCAVs will provide tactical elasticity by conducting high risky missions without human loss probability. These drones’ primary purpose seems to be ISR and small-scale strike operations, like engaging coastal targets (e.g., Naval Surveillance Radars, SSM batteries, critical logistic stations) and naval assets with low air-defense capabilities. Besides, SWARM attacks with these UCAVs would be a new advantage against adversary surface action groups.

Turkish Navy plans to conduct manned and unmanned hybrid operations more than before in the future. Last week, the Head of the Turkish Defence Industry made a statement about converting the LHD Anadolu into a drone-carrier ship. Baykar company has been working on a shipborne UCAV named TB-3 and planning to deliver it to the Turkish Navy in a year. This statement was a clue to the Turkish Navy’s drone policy, which will form a new naval warfare concept.

Turkey Turkish Navy UAV 2021-03-18
Tags Turkey Turkish Navy UAV
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Authors

Posted by : Tayfun Ozberk
Tayfun Ozberk is a former naval officer who is expert in Above Water Warfare especially in Littoral Waters. He has a Bachelor Degree in Computer Science. After serving the Turkish Navy for 16 years, he started writing articles for several media. Tayfun also offers analysis services on global naval strategies. He's based in Mersin, Turkey.

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