TRG-230 Supersonic Missile Makes Akinci’s Drone Even More Fierce, Destroys Land Targets 150 Km Far

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Turkey has successfully developed a TRG-230 supersonic air-to-ground ballistic missile and successfully tested it from the Akinci combat drone. Photo/Military Leak/Bayraktar/Bulgarian Military

ANKARA – Turkey successfully developed a TRG-230 supersonic air-to-ground ballistic missile and was successfully test-fired from an Akinci combat drone in December 2022. The TRG-230-IHA supersonic air-to-ground ballistic missile has a range of more than 150 kilometers.

In the first test firing of the TRG-230 missile, the Akinci combat drone, or High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Akinci Unmaned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV), took off from Chorlu. The drone flew about 700 kilometers, reaching the test site in Sinop.

Quoted from the Bulgarian Military website, Wednesday (8/3/2023), after reaching the firing point the drone released TRG-230-IHA missiles at an altitude of 25,000 feet or 7,260 meters. With precise launch and targeting, the missile successfully hit targets at a distance of 100 km.

The TRG-230 missile produced by Roketsan has an effective range of 150 kilometers depending on launch speed and altitude. The new Turkish missile has a particle-effect warhead, although it can deploy armor-piercing or thermobaric variants of the warhead.

TRG-230-IHA is an important missile from a world war doctrine point of view. The operating principle of this rocket, after being fired from a drone, will fall freely in the air for a certain time. The rocket then independently starts its solid propellant engine.

TRG-230-IHA determines targets with GNSS-enabled inertial targeting capabilities that are resistant to jamming systems. The system works with fire-and-forget function. This offers the user the ability to use them in critical missions without going deep into enemy positions.

According to Turkish sources, these missiles are difficult to neutralize by the enemy’s conventional air defense systems. The TRG-230 missile can be launched from the Roketsan Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher [MBRL] and other platforms with compatible interfaces. This missile accurately and effectively destroys targets 70 km away.

Akinci Drone Specifications

The Akinci unmanned combat aerial vehicle or drone was developed by Baykar Defense based on the Bayraktar Tactical Block-II unmanned aerial vehicle. This drone can perform some of the tasks performed by fighter aircraft thanks to its advanced technical capabilities.

With its unique bent wing structure, the Akinci drone has a wingspan of 20 meters and carries a lot of ammunition. This combat drone can stay in the air for 24 hours at an altitude of 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) and carry a payload of 1,500 kilograms.

The system, which works with much more sophisticated payloads such as electronic support capsules, satellite communications systems, air-to-air radars, obstacle detection radars and synthetic aperture radars. The drone is capable of carrying out air-to-ground operations and air-to-air missions.

Akinci is built for take off and landing from runways carrying a maximum payload of 5,500 kg. Akinci is powered by two 750 hp turboprop engines or two 450 hp turboprop engines so it can fly at a maximum speed of 195 knots or 350 km/hour.

The Akinci drones are armed with intelligent laser-guided munitions, missiles and long-range anti-aircraft munitions. This capability has been integrated with simultaneous AESA, EO/IR/LD, and SIGINT radars.

(wib)