Turkish defense giant ASELSAN successfully tests micro unmanned aerial vehicle

Turkish defense giant ASELSAN on Tuesday said the flight tests of the micro unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Saka were successfully carried out. ASELSAN Project Manager Yusuf Ziya Kotil told Anadolu Agency the company is working on unmanned air, land and sea systems. The Saka system with 3-axis gimbal, developed for exploration and surveillance purposes, weighs around 600 grams, Kotil said. 'Saka has advantages over existing UAV systems with features such as its small pocket size, easy transportation with camouflage, ability to work in closed spaces, caves and similar environments, and meeting the need for a shorter range of image transfer.' The company has been continuing to design a mechanism that can meet the aforementioned needs, and can be integrated into different land platforms. The aircraft can take off automatically without the need for manual intervention. 'We plan to outperform foreign products in the market with its customizable flight controller and ground control station software infrastructure, data link system that is resistant to electronic warfare threats and a herd UAV infrastructure,' he noted. 'At the end of this year, for the first time in Turkey, we will be introducing the Saka weighing less than 500 grams with different features, including original flight controller and image processing unit hardware and software, and data link system,' he added.