Aircraft & UAVs

Bayraktar Akıncı

Also known as
  • AKINCI
  • Bayraktar Akinci

The Bayraktar Akıncı is a Turkish twin-engine UCAV built by Baykar for long-range ISTAR, precision strike, and maritime missions. Baykar says the aircraft entered Turkish Armed Forces service on August 29, 2021, later flew across Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan to reach TEKNOFEST Azerbaijan, and surpassed 100,000 flight hours in 2025. The company also documents a 1.5-ton payload class, a 45,118-foot altitude record, and carriage of MAM-L and MAM-C smart munitions.

Role in Conflicts

Side
Turkey
Role in conflict
Long-range precision strike and reconnaissance

Baykar says Akıncı joined Turkey's first major operation against PKK targets in northern Iraq in April 2022.

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Turkey
Built by
Baykar
Type
Unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV)
Service note
2021-present
Designer
Baykar
Designed
2019
Produced
2021-present

Specifications

Service ceiling
40,000 feet
Maximum altitude record
45,118 feet
Operational range
6,000 km
Endurance
24+ hours
MTOW
6,000 kg
Payload capacity
1,500 kg
Wingspan
20 m
Length
12.3 m
Power plant
2 x 450 hp / 2 x 750 hp / 2 x 850 hp twin turboprop engines
Sensors and payloads
National LOS and SATCOM, multi-mode AESA radar, SIGINT, EO/IR/LD, MAM-L, MAM-C, laser-guided smart munitions, missiles, and long-range weapons
Variants
  • AKINCI-A
  • AKINCI-B
  • AKINCI-C
Carried Munitions

Baykar explicitly lists MAM-L and MAM-C on the Akıncı product page, and its 2025 flight-hours note shows the platform tested a much wider indigenous payload set.

Carried itemItem typeCarriage evidence
MAM-L guided bomb, Laser-guided smart micro munition, MunitionsMAM-L guided bombLaser-guided smart bomb

Baykar lists MAM-L among Akıncı's national munitions and says the aircraft has tested MAM-L and MAM-L TV variants.

Sources: Bayraktar AKINCI, Bayraktar AKINCI surpasses 100000 flight hours

MAM-C guided bomb, Laser-guided smart micro munition, MunitionsMAM-C guided bombLaser-guided smart micro munition

Baykar lists MAM-C on the Akıncı product page and says the aircraft has tested MAM-C alongside the broader precision-guided family.

Sources: Bayraktar AKINCI, Bayraktar AKINCI surpasses 100000 flight hours

Documented Payload Families

Baykar's public material shows Akıncı moving beyond generic UAV carriage into a deliberately broad precision-weapon integration set.

FamilyExamplesBaykar status
Smart bombsMAM-L, MAM-CListed on the Akıncı product page and reinforced in the 2025 flight-hours note.
Guided bombs and kitsMAM-L TV, MAM-T, MAM-T IIR/TV, TOLUN, TOLUN IIR, Teber-81, Teber-82, LAÇIN 82, LGK-81, LGK-82, HGK-82, Gökçe Guidance Kit, Gözde Guidance Kit, KGK-82-SIHABaykar says it has tested this wider indigenous munition set on Akıncı.
MissilesIHA-230 Supersonic Missile, TV- and laser-seeker IHA-122 Supersonic Missile, Çakır Cruise MissileBaykar says Akıncı has also been used to test these stand-off weapons.
Timeline

Bayraktar Akıncı Key Events

  1. Maiden flight

    Baykar says Akıncı completed its maiden flight on December 6, 2019.

  2. Enters Turkish service

    Baykar says Akıncı entered service with the Turkish Armed Forces on August 29, 2021.

  3. National altitude record

    Baykar says Akıncı reached 45,118 feet during endurance, high-altitude, and high-speed tests on June 21, 2022.

  4. Flies across three countries to Baku

    Baykar says Akıncı flew from Türkiye through Georgia and Azerbaijan to reach Baku for TEKNOFEST Azerbaijan in 2022.

  5. Supports earthquake response

    Baykar says nine Akıncı aircraft remained airborne continuously after the February 6, 2023 earthquakes to support search-and-rescue, coordination, public safety, and damage assessment.

  6. Locates helicopter wreckage in Iran

    Baykar says Akıncı reached the crash site in heavy fog and mountainous terrain and relayed the helicopter's coordinates to Iranian authorities.

  7. Passes 100,000 flight hours

    Baykar says Akıncı passed 100,000 flight hours and was subject to export agreements with eleven countries.

Media
Related Weapon Systems
Bayraktar TB2, Medium-altitude long-endurance UAV, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsBayraktar TB2Medium-altitude long-endurance UAVThe Bayraktar TB2 is a Turkish MALE armed UAV built by Baykar for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and precision strike missions. Developed from 2012 and delivered to Turkish inventory in 2014, Baykar reports more than 1.25 million operational flight hours, and the aircraft became one of the most visible armed drones of the 2020s through documented use in Ukraine, Libya, Nagorno-Karabakh, the Sahel, Sudan, Somalia, and other conflicts.
Bayraktar KIZILELMA, Jet-powered unmanned fighter aircraft, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsBayraktar KIZILELMAJet-powered unmanned fighter aircraftBayraktar KIZILELMA is Baykar's Turkish jet-powered unmanned fighter aircraft program, built around low radar cross-section, autonomous handling, short-runway carrier compatibility, and air-to-air as well as precision-strike weapons integration. Public sources document a development and production-test aircraft rather than verified combat deployment: PT-3 has completed aerodynamic and live-fire trials, Baykar has demonstrated GÖKDOĞAN, TOLUN, TEBER-82, LGK-82, and smart-fleet autonomy test events, and Turkish reporting says serial production has begun ahead of planned Turkish Armed Forces deliveries.
YIHA-III, Loitering munition / one-way attack UAV, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsYIHA-IIILoitering munition / one-way attack UAVYIHA-III is the reporting name for Baykar's Sivrisinek loitering munition, a catapult-launched one-way attack UAV associated with Baykar's work at Pakistan's National Aerospace Science and Technology Park. Baykar's 2026 product page describes UM and UMX configurations with relay-assisted communications, autonomous navigation, and a 20 kg warhead, while Reuters and Indian government reporting tied Yiha/YIHA-III drones to Pakistan's May 2025 drone exchanges with India.
Turkish Aerospace Hürjet, Supersonic advanced jet trainer and light-attack aircraft, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsTurkish Aerospace HürjetSupersonic advanced jet trainer and light-attack aircraftTurkish Aerospace Hürjet is Turkey's single-engine, tandem-seat supersonic advanced jet trainer and light-attack aircraft, developed under SSB coordination for indigenous jet-training capacity. The aircraft first flew in April 2023, is in serial-production and flight-test work for Turkish Air Force service, and now anchors Spain's Airbus-led SAETA II combat-training system while GE Aerospace supplies F404 propulsion support for the program.
Turkish Aerospace Hürkuş, Tandem-seat turboprop trainer and light-attack aircraft family, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsTurkish Aerospace HürkuşTandem-seat turboprop trainer and light-attack aircraft familyTurkish Aerospace Hürkuş is a Turkish tandem-seat, single-engine turboprop trainer family developed by TUSAŞ, with a mission-aircraft configuration for light attack, armed reconnaissance, and special-task training. TUSAŞ identifies Niger as the first export user of the mission variant and Chad as a later recipient; one Nigerien Hürkuş was reported destroyed during the January 2026 Islamic State attack on Niamey's Air Base 101.

Related News

Sources