Indigenously Developed ANKA Represents Milestone in Turkish MALE UAV Market
LONDON, Oct 18, 2011 The 2011 Turkey Frost & Sullivan Product Leadership Award in Aerospace and Defence is presented to Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TAI) for ANKA. This pioneering, indigenously developed medium altitude long endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been designed by TAI to meet reconnaissance and surveillance requirements.
“TAI’s culture of technology excellence, its high spend on R&D activities, combined with a strong competitive product strategy in the field of UAVs, have underlined its position as a product leader,” notes Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Koray Oezkal. “Its effective human resource strategy has also contributed to this technology success story.”
With its 17 m. wing span and 1600 takeoff weight, ANKA is among the highest capacity systems in its class. ANKA carries EO/IR cameras developed by Aselsan and can conduct day and night intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) in all weather conditions.
It is the first indigenous MALE UAV to have successfully penetrated the Turkish defence market, long dominated by Israeli and U.S. systems. In addition, TAI has joined a very limited number of prestigious global companies who are capable of producing MALE UAV systems.
“Compared to most of the major MALE UAVs, ANKA promises to be significantly superior with respect to its improved system backup capabilities, diesel engine and electro expulsive ice protection system (IPS),” remarks Oezkal. “The electro expulsive IPS represents another first — being used for the very first time in the Turkish aerospace and defence industry.”
ANKA’s flexibility allows further technology development, thereby supporting customer value enhancement. Its high payload capacity will also enable integration of SATCOM and SIGINT payloads.
“Considering the fact that some of the major competitors in the market are reaching their final lifespan for further technological development, ANKA’s ability to adapt further demands for reconnaissance and surveillance requirements is an important driver for enhancing customer value,” adds Oezkal.
To meet the strict product quality demands of end-users, ANKA is designed and developed in accordance with international standards such as NATO STANAG 4671 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Systems Airworthiness Requirements (USAR).
ANKA has generated significant interest through TAI’s focused promotion activities at various expos and fairs. Gulf States have shown great interest in the ANKA project, with UAE and Saudi Arabia expected to acquire ANKA UAVs. TAI is well positioned to increase market share starting from 2013 against its competitors from US and Israel.
The Product Leadership Award is awarded to the company excelling in the following criteria: for product features/functionality, for innovative element of the product, for product acceptance in the marketplace, for providing customer value enhancements and for providing product quality.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.
