Turkish engineers develop "air-to-air" missiles for Akıncı UAV

Specialists from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) are implementing a project to develop air-to-air missiles, which, in particular, are planned to be integrated into Akıncı strike unmanned aerial vehicles.

Director of the Defence Industry Research Institute at TÜBİTAK, Gürcan Okumuş, has said that new ammunition could be integrated into other aircraft in the future.

Okumuş answered questions from the Anadolu Agency at the “MMG-EURITECH Avrasya Ar-Ge, İnovasyon & Teknoloji” exhibition in the Gebze IT Valley in northwestern Türkiye.

Air-to-air missiles are critical to manned and unmanned aircraft, he said, and are often referred to as "air swords" that hit targets at long range. “Countries are reluctant to supply each other with such high-tech developments, and sometimes they don’t do it at all,” the director of the Institute stated.

According to him, Türkiye has made significant progress in the defence industry and already possesses significant technologies.

The Director of the Institute underlined that Türkiye is gradually turning from a market for defence products into an importer of high-tech weapons. "In some areas, Türkiye is in the TOP-5, and in some - in the top ten," he said.