Turkish Sea Drone Successfully Sinks Target Off Mediterranean Coast In Joint Attack Operation

Turkey's Albatros-S USVs. (Source: Presidency of Defense Industries)

JAKARTA - Turkey successfully conducted a test run of the kamikaze marine drone fleet in a joint attack operation in the waters and hit the target, the Ministry of Defense said.

Developed by the Aselsan defense contractor, a group of Albatros-S unmanned surface ships (USV) consisting of eight kamikaze marine drones conducted tests targeting ships measuring 22 meters (72.18 feet) off the coast of Mersin Province in the Eastern Mediterranean.

In this joint operation, the detection of targets was carried out by the famous Turkish air drone (UAV) Bayraktar TB2. The target ship sank within minutes after being approached and hit by one of the USVs equipped with a warhead produced by another leading local defense manufacturer, Roketsan.

"For the first time in the world, a group attack was carried out with a joint USV-UAV operation," the Ministry of Defense said via social media platform X, quoted by the Daily Sabah, October 25.

The Albatros-S system is a USV system that has a high level of autonomy, is able to navigate and perform tasks in group formations that do not depend on central control.

The Ministry of Defense said careful precautions had been taken to minimize environmental impacts during the sea trials.

Prior to testing, the target ship underwent a thorough cleaning procedure to remove pollutants such as fuel and oil.

Measuring about 7 meters long at a speed of more than 40 knots, the USV Albatros-S is capable of exploring more than 200 nautical miles and a significant payload capacity.

Herd AUSV will be able to carry out its mission against various obstacles with capabilities such as domestic communication systems, control systems, multi-communication system architectures, and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).

This drone also has the ability to perform tasks in areas that do not have a telecommunications network.

By introducing new dimensions in the maritime landscape, the drone will offer important operational capabilities in protecting the sea around Turkey.

It said the AUSV would add security and protection of the country's maritime continuum and exclusive economic zones (EEZ), with features such as autonomous navigation in groups, changes in autonomous formations, and implementation of autonomous missions.

#ASELSAN Genel Müdürü Ahmet Akyol :#ALBATROS💢Milli mühendislik gücümüz ile geliştirdiğimiz ALBATROS Kamikaze İnsansız Deniz Aracı sürüsü Mersin’de yapılan testlerde hedef gemiyi etkisiz hale getirerek günümüz insansız sistemlerinde yeni bir çağ açtı. pic.twitter.com/ZSzrPB0oQm

— Kerem (@KeremHok) November 2, 2023

#ASELSAN Genel M\"ud\"ur\ahmet Akyol : #ALBATROSMilli m\"hendislik m\" z ile lebih tir dimenkimiz ALBATROS Kamikaze z Deniz Arac sr\" sin de