Photo credit- Arif Hudaverdi Yaman via Getty Images.

Turkey has created a drone named Alpagu. It is also called kamikaze drone because it falls on the target itself and destroys it. Alpagu is a fixed-wing autonomous tactical attack UAV developed by a company named Savunma Teknologileri Muhendislik (STM). This 653 mm long drone weighs 1.95 kg. This drone can carry a warhead weighing up to 270 grams.

There is no need of soldiers to fly this drone. It is an autonomous drone and finds its target automatically through radar. This drone is quite cheap. During the India-Pakistan tension in May, Islamabad used several Turkish drones to attack India. However he could not get success. Turkey’s Asisguard Songer drone is also included in this.

First consignment sent to unnamed country

Alpagunjar can detect, monitor and accurately attack distant targets. It can be easily connected with land, sea or air platforms. in 2023 turkiye There was a joint exercise between the Air Force and the Azerbaijani Air Force, in which Alpagune received praise by hitting the target accurately four times. After the field test, the first batch of this drone was sent to a country in November 2023, whose name has not been revealed.

How many components are there in Alpagu

This UAV system comes in three parts

1. Fixed-Wing Smart Ammunition (Drone Body)

2. a launcher

3. A ground control station (GCS).

The length of the drone is 653 mm, diameter is 105 mm, wingspan is 883 mm. The size of the launcher is 860×170×150 mm and it launches from a gas-generator. The ground control station has an 11.6-inch screen and can control multiple drones simultaneously from inside and outside antennas and mesh network.

Special Features of Alpagu

The weight of the drone is 1.95 kg and it has a warhead of 270 grams. Cruise speed is 21 m/sec and maximum is 28 m/sec. Operational range is less than 10 km, but control distance is 8 km. Mission time is approximately 15 minutes. The flight altitude remains between 80200 meters from the ground

It uses AES-256 encryption system for security. It has electro optical and infra red camera, which can keep an eye on the target during day and night. The camera can operate in temperatures between −20°C to 40°C. Can withstand wind up to 12 m/sec.

4 drones can be controlled from one ground station

Alpaguque is an autonomous drone. Allows operator action from the ground. Even a soldier can operate it easily. It has targeting, mission_ABORT and emergency self-destroying features through image processing and deep-learning. Four Alpagus can launch simultaneous or separate attacks from a single Ground Control Station (GCS).