Turkey has successfully sunk a ship using a swarm of eight unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and a Bayraktar TB2 drone.
During the test in the waters of Mersin, the Bayraktar detected the 22-meter long (72 foot) target ship and signaled the location to the Albatros-S USVs.
One of the USVs, specially fitted with a warhead for the test, approached the target and crashed into it. Minutes after impact, the ship sank.
Savunma sanayimizin milli mühendislik gücü, insansız sistemlerde çağ açmaya devam ediyor. ⬇️
???? @BaykarTech #BayraktarTB2‘nin tespit ettiği gemiye @aselsan #ALBATROS Kamikaze İnsansız Deniz Aracı (İDA) yönlendirildi.
???? @roketsan desteği ile geliştirilmiş harp başlığının yüklü… pic.twitter.com/ABPo4xz5Yt
— SSB (@SavunmaSanayii) October 9, 2023
Increasing Unmanned Potential
The USV’s manufacturer, Aselsan, shared that the vessels were developed in collaboration with Roketsan, who created the warheads for the drones.
Aselsan continues to develop USVs for Turkey. For example, a variant of the Albatros-S named “Albatros Kamikaze” is set to be equipped with a 200-kilogram warhead.
Unveiled during the 2021 International Defence Industry Fair, Turkey’s Swarm USV program is designed to conduct drone swarm formations not only with the Albatros-S models but also with other future Turkish USVs.
