Combat drone Bayraktar TB3 drops bombs for the first time: Baykar tests MAM-T

The Turkish company Baykar Technology again reports successful tests of its Bayraktar TB3 combat drone, an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). At the end of November, the UCAV became the first of its kind worldwide to take off from and land on a short-runway aircraft carrier. Now the first test with the precision-guided MAM-T bomb has also succeeded: the target was hit with pinpoint accuracy.

According to the company, the Bayraktar TB3 took off on 16 January with two Roketsan MAM-T from the Flight Training and Test Center in Keşan. It flew its first strike successfully using Aselsan's Aselflir-500, an electro-optical reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting system, and hit the target.

This firing test launches the munitions integration tests to follow in the coming days and weeks.

Combat drone as a multiplier for overseas forces

The Bayraktar TB3 has folding wings and advanced capabilities – good prerequisites for becoming one of the leading UCAVs of its class in naval forces. Because it is equipped with beyond line of sight (BLOS) communications, it can operate over long distances; it is therefore likely to become a key instrument of Turkish deterrence strategy.

On 26 March 2024, the TB3 had also been fitted with the Aselflir-500, the electro-optical reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting system developed by Aselsan. Baykar therefore sees good prospects that the system will be as successful as the TB2.

According to official figures, the Turkish manufacturer now has the TB2 under contract in 34 countries, and the Akinci UCAV already has contracts with ten countries. Most recently, Baykar reported a major order from Saudi Arabia.