ISTANBUL, Turkey, May 10 (UPI) -- An indigenously made, medium-altitude, long-endurance surveillance drone from the Turkish Aviation and Space Industry Corp. is ready for deployment.
The ANKA has a top speed of 135 miles per hour, a combat radius of 124 miles and an endurance time of 18 hours with a 400-pound payload.
"It carries a 120-kg camera, stays up in the air for 18 hours. The plane needs no human interference for its functions including takeoff and landing," Remzi Barlas, head of the UAV project told a Turkish news agency.
"The most important feature of the ANKA is that it is designed by Turkish engineers. If we need to make any changes to it, we can do it ourselves."
The drone, which will be available for foreign sales, will cost $5 million-$8 million.
The aircraft was originally developed by the state-owned Turkish Aviation and Space Industry Corp. for Turkish armed forces.
