Akıncı combat drone sets new national aviation record

Turkey's Bayraktar Akıncı combat drone broke a new record in the country on July 9 by flying at an altitude of 38,039 feet and staying in the air for 25 hours and 46 minutes.

According to the defense company Baykar, the unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) was a project spearheaded by the Defense Industries Presidency and took off in the long-haul flight and high-altitude performance test held in the presence of official delegations.

During the flight tests in the Akıncı Flight Training and Test Center, it traveled 7,507 kilometers (4,660 miles) in air, making 870 sorties during the tests to date and performed a total of 347 hours and 28 minutes of flight.

The Bayraktar Akıncı UCAV made its first flight on Dec. 6 2019. Test activities carried out at the center in the northwestern Corlu Airport Command are conducted with three other prototypes.