Türkiye’s Bayraktar TB3 completes first firing test, hits target with MAM-T munition (Video)

Türkiye’s domestically manufactured uncrewed combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) Bayraktar TB3 has completed its first firing test with the MAM-T munition and hit its target with “pinpoint accuracy”.

As disclosed, the UCAV, which recently made history by becoming the world’s first armed unmanned aerial vehicle to take off and land on a short runway vessel, departed from the Baykar Flight Training and Test Center in Keşan, Edirne, with two Roketsan MAM-T munitions onboard on January 17, 2025.

According to Turkish defense company and the manufacturer of the UCAV Baykar, the aircraft “successfully launched its first strike” using Aselsan’s ASELFLIR-500 electro-optical reconnaissance, surveillance, and targeting system, hitting its designated target with “pinpoint accuracy”. 

Bayraktar TB3 will continue its payload and munitions integration tests as part of its ongoing development process, in line with the predetermined timeline, the company added.

To remind, in November last year, Bayraktar TB3 wrapped up a flight test off amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu, becoming the first unmanned aerial vehicle to land on and take off a short-runway vessel. After completing a 46-minute test flight at the intersection of the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean, the aircraft landed back on the same short runway without any landing support equipment.

Shortly after, the Bayraktar TB3 continued its sea trials, completing a second takeoff and landing sequence aboard TCG Anadolu off the coast of Çanakkale, again without landing support equipment. Baykar’s indigenous UCAV, having passed all test parameters, completed the test after cruising at an average altitude of 20,000 feet.

TCG Anadolu is the largest ship of the Turkish Navy with a length of 231 meters, a width of 32 meters, and a displacement of 27,436 tons. The ship has a top speed of 20.5 knots and a range of 9000 nautical miles when fully loaded. It combines the characteristics of a landing helicopter dock and an aircraft carrier.

The vessel entered service in April 2023.

Equipped with beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) communication, Bayraktar TB3 can be controlled from distant locations. With this capability, the UCAV will enable the country to conduct reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence, and strike missions against overseas targets using its smart munitions.

To date, the Bayraktar TB3 UCAV has accumulated 887 hours and 23 minutes of flight time during its test flights. In a long-range flight test on December 20, 2023, the indigenous aircraft remained airborne for 32 consecutive hours, covering a total distance of 5,700 kilometers.