Debut, Turkish Kargi Kamikaze Drone Designed To Attack Opponent's Radar And Armaments, Replace Israeli Drones

Drone Kargi. (Twitter/Turkish Defence News)

JAKARTA - The kamikaze or Kagi suicide unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), made by the Turkish defense industry was exhibited for the first time as part of the EFES-2022 military exercise.

One of the largest planned exercises of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), the EFES-2022 field exercise took place in the Seferihisar district of western Izmir, with the participation of elements of friendly and allied countries.

Within the scope of the exercise, local defense industry company Lentatek showcased the UAVs it has developed with domestic and national resources.

According to the Daily Sabah on June 6, the Kargı project was initiated by Lentatek with the support of the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBITAK).

Kargı can suppress and destroy enemy air defense system radars and integrated surface-to-air weapons. With preparations complete, Lentatek is only a few days before the UAV enters serial production.

Ground systems, navigation and automatic flight control system design and production are all domestically developed, as is the system software.

In 2018, Karg made its maiden flight with the nationally developed Lentatek aircraft and ground systems as a result of localization of foreign components, which were also applied to the RF search and destroy system, flight and launch engines (rocket engines), link systems, propeller subsystems - propeller and fuel tank, all of which are developed domestically as well.

Kargi Drones. (Twitter/Lentatek)

The Kargı project is being carried out under the leadership of Lentatek in collaboration with other leading defense industry companies, namely Aselsan, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Defense Industries Research and Development Institute (SAGE) TÜBITAK.

This Kargi drone carries a PG50 engine developed by TAI's engine manufacturing subsidiary, TUSAŞ Engine Industries (TEI).

The plane is launched from a tube, which is also used as storage, thanks to a rocket engine. Kargı forces the air defense radar to remain passive by navigating the enemy's airspace for a long time and will be able to locate its target and successfully destroy it with an RF seek and destroy system.

It is known that the kamikaze UAV is expected to replace the Israeli-made Harpy already in TSK's inventory.

The IAI Harpy is a reliable armament manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries, designed to attack radar systems and optimized to suppress enemy air defenses.

It carries a high explosive warhead. The Harpy has been sold to several countries, including South Korea, Turkey, India and China.