What is known about the Turkish drone Eren with laser weapons
Turkish drone Eren with laser weapons, photo: www.aa.com.tr
In the first half of December 2021, the Turkish news agency Anadolu disseminated information about the testing of the world's first drone with laser weapons. This is about drone Eren, this unit was developed by Turkish defense companies. It is reported that the drone successfully carried out shots from a distance of 100, 300 and 500 meters.
According to Turkish journalists, the presented drone with laser weapons can be effectively used to destroy various explosive devices.
It is curious that the creation of the Eren drone was initiated by the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs. Anadolu believes that after the completion of a series of tests, a drone with a laser weapon will also be of interest to the country's Ministry of Defense.
What is known about the development of the Eren drone?
Two Turkish defense companies are responsible for the development of a laser-armed drone. It is a division of Asis Elektronik and the Tubitak SAGE defense research and development institute. The first company operates in the areas of smart cities, defense and financial technology. In 2018, the company spun off a separate division specifically for defense developments, creating the Asisguard brand.
Asis Elektronik focuses on its own developments and Turkish capital. The company is especially proud to have developed products and solutions used in 81 provinces in Turkey and 12 countries around the world. The company occupies a leading position in Turkey in the development of military electronics for vehicles, drones and their weapons systems, electro-optical data visualization systems, etc.
Turkish drone Eren with laser weapons, photo: www.aa.com.tr
In turn, the Tubitak SAGE Institute for Research and Development in the field of defense industry has existed since 1972. Its main purpose is to ensure the independence of Turkey in the field of defense technologies and all kinds of encouragement of domestic production and R&D. Basically, Tubitak SAGE is working on missile weapons, guided and unguided ammunition, guidance systems. Among other things, the company is developing ammunition for Turkish unmanned aerial vehicles.
In the resulting tandem, Asisguard presents a drone - a carrier of weapons or reconnaissance electronic-optical equipment, and Tubitak SAGE is responsible for the combat component - weapon kits for drones. Currently, Asisguard is actively promoting its own stealth drones Songar SAGE in the Turkish market.
Turkish media reports that the development of a laser-armed drone is an initiative of the Forensic Department of the General Directorate of Security of Turkey. The name of the drone was personally given by Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu.
After the completion of all phases of testing, the new drones are supposed to be transferred to the arsenal of the Turkish army.
What is known about the characteristics of the Eren drone?
There is very little information on the characteristics of the new laser-armed drone.
Nothing is known directly about the laser installation on board the aircraft. This information was not published in open sources, including missing on the websites of Turkish defense companies. Turkish journalists only talked about the testing of the apparatus and shared information from the Deputy Police Commissioner Ayikut Eroglu, who commented on the Anadolu agency.
A shot from Turkish television showing a metal plate allegedly pierced by a laser
It is reported that the drone tested by the Turks was able to successfully hit the demonstration target, firing laser shots from a distance of 100, 300 and 500 meters. Judging by the published photos and video images, the laser burned through a thin metal plate.
The test results, even if they happened in reality, are not particularly impressive. But the scope of the Turkish drone is also quite limited.
This is not a superweapon from science fiction novels, which will erase buildings, structures from the surface of the earth and turn military equipment or soldiers into a handful of ashes. The drone itself is relatively small, as is the laser installation installed on it.
According to Turkish police representatives, the main purpose of the new drone is the sapper function.
Turkish police and military expect to use a drone as Robot-sapper. Being at a considerable distance from suspicious objects, the drone will be able to hit them with a laser, without a threat to the device operator and other citizens. According to the developers, the new drone should help the military destroy improvised explosive devices, mines and ammunition from a safe distance without the involvement of sappers. The practical ceiling for this drone is 3 meters.
The Turkish media emphasize that the development is completely national.
Obviously, the new drone is based on the Songar drone, which was first introduced in 2019. This model exists today in military and civilian versions and is actively promoted in the market by Asisguard.
Externally, the device is a fairly large quadcopter. The takeoff weight of this combat quadcopter is 38 kg. The diagonal size from one rotor to the other is 140 cm.
Combat Drone Songar, image: asisguard.com.tr
With a practical ceiling of 3 meters, the device can be used most effectively at altitudes up to 000 meters above the ground. The drone is able to operate in manual and autonomous flight control mode. At the same time, the maximum mission duration is estimated at 300 minutes and may vary depending on the equipment and weapons systems installed on board. The maximum range of the quadcopter is 27 km. The maximum flight speed is 5 m / s (15 km / h).
Operation of the device is possible at temperatures from –20 to +50 degrees Celsius with a maximum allowable wind force of 10 m / s (36 km / h).
All the listed characteristics of the Songar drone are shown in the advertising materials of the manufacturer Asisguard.
Eren drone perspectives
Due to the lack of video recording of the tests of the Eren drone, the very fact of testing a drone with laser weapons on board may raise reasonable doubts. Fake materials about laser weapons were published quite often.
At the same time, Turkish journalists and industry do not contribute in any way to the disclosure of the technical details of the novelty. Nothing is known about the laser used and its power, while the dimensions of the drone itself are quite small.
On the other hand, the purpose of the Eren drone is purely utilitarian. Cases when the laser was used to hit small moving objects are known, however, the tested installations themselves were quite large-scale.
But the Eren drone is not required to solve any military super tasks. This is a fairly highly specialized apparatus, which is sharpened in demining the area.
Songar drone with firing module, image: asisguard.com.tr
A drone-mounted laser is not required to burn through hardened armor. It must detonate improvised explosive devices with or without a thin-walled metal shell.
Robots have been actively used to combat mines and IEDs for a long time. True, the sapper robots, which are used for mine clearance, are represented today by ground-based devices. In this regard, the Turkish development looks very original.
True, it is not very clear why a drone with laser weapons should be used to mine the terrain. The same versions of the Songar drone are available today with small arms. Shooting a potential explosive device or unexploded projectile with incendiary bullets is much easier and probably significantly cheaper.
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