Turkey‘s ANKA III UCAV Drops TOLUN Guided Bomb from Internal Bays for the First Time

The internal launch, the first ever by a Turkish aircraft, demonstrated the ANKA III’s ‘ability to perform stealth strikes by maintaining a low Radar Cross Section (RCS) until the strike moment.’

Turkey’s ANKA III UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) released a TOLUN guided bomb from its internal weapons bays in a first-of-its-kind test, announced the manufacturer TUSAS (Türk Havacılık Uzay Sanayii) on Jan. 13, 2025. The TOLUN guided munition has been developed by Aselsan, another indigenous industry.

As per TUSAS (also known as Turkish Aerospace Industries or TAI), ANKA III released the munition from an altitude of 20,000 feet and while flying at a speed of 180 knots. The footage showed the UCAV from different angles inside a hangar, as well as its takeoff and the highlights of the flight.

A camera installed underneath the fuselage captured the left bay door opening, when an operator from a ground-based control station commanded the weapon’s release. The TOLUN is shown from both a camera inside the bay and a chase aircraft as it drops from the aircraft and deploys its X-shaped tail fins. The weapon lands on a marked spot on the ground without exploding, suggesting it was an inert round for testing purposes.

ANKA III’ten bir ilk! 💪🏻

ANKA III gövde içerisinden mühimmat atışını başarıyla gerçekleştirdi.
@aselsan’ın yerli ve millî üretimi TOLUN mühimmatı ile 20 bin feet irtifada 180 knot hızla atış gerçekleştirildi.

Gövde içerisinden yapılan atışla ANKA III operasyonel kabiliyetini… pic.twitter.com/7WnAXHKhj8

— Türk Havacılık Uzay Sanayii (@TUSAS_TR) January 13, 2025

TurDef said the internal launch demonstrated the ANKA III’s “ability to perform stealth strikes by maintaining a low Radar Cross Section (RCS) until the strike moment.” The UCAV is a pure flying-wing, tailless aircraft, offering little reflective surfaces, especially from the side aspect. The publication however admitted that this leads to “low maneuverability,” but nevertheless bolsters overall “deep strike” and “surprise attack capabilities” by the UCAV against peer adversaries.

Aseslsan said the “TOLUN also proved its competence in low-visibility air platforms.” The company’s CEO Ahmet Akyol added on X that they will work towards “the ability to launch up to 8 TOLUNs from ANKA III in a single sortie.” As per Ulusavunma, ANKA III will have a total of seven weapon stations, one under the fuselage center, two internal and two under each wing.

TOLUN and ANKA III Testing Campaigns

On Aug. 9, 2024, the TOLUN bomb was released by the Akinci UCAV on a floating target at sea, which was a major milestone for the drone. That flight was part of the ongoing test campaign of the new Akinci-C aircraft. This was followed by TAI announcing on Sep. 1, 2024 that an ANKA III UCAV “successfully completed its first armed fight.”

The aircraft was airborne with a Teber-82 guided munition mounted on its left wing, and various tests were conducted during the flight, said the company. The TEBER kit transforms Mk-81 and Mk-82 bombs into guided munitions with dual laser and GPS-modes. The purpose was to test the ‘carriage’ and ‘stress’ performance verification of the ANKA III’s airframe and the weapons’ hardpoints.

At the time, The Aviationist assessed the future tests might involve progressively testing the ANKA III for its intended aerodynamic, flight control, avionics, sensor performance, munitions carriage and weapons release from both internal and external holds in more expansive envelopes and wider flight parameters.

The latest test appears to be more ANKA III-centric than the TOLUN, since internal weapons bays covered by retractable doors are more complicated pieces of engineering. “ASELSAN’s Tolun munition has also achieved a key design objective through this test,” TurDef added.

TOLUN

The existence of the TOLUN bomb has been reported since late 2022, when Turkish defense news outlets reported “integration activities” of the Tolun and the Akinci. Aselsan developed both the weapon and the SADAK-4T Smart Pneumatic Quad Rack to carry four pieces of the air-to-ground munition.

According to Aselsan, the TOLUN is a GPS/INS guided munition that can be employed against “multiple soft and hardened targets simultaneously.” Its warhead is designed by Tübitak SAGE, with Aselsan developing the rest of the system.

Aselsan is also developing a TOLUN variant with an IIR (Imaging Infrared) seeker to hit moving targets and an unnamed “ground-launched version with Delta-V’s hybrid fuel rocket motor”. The former, according to the company, will use a pod to allow the pilot to be “kept in the loop.”

The latter, going by its framing, suggests launch by an MLRS (Multiple Rocket Launch System) like the TRG-230. This is similar to the US-made GLSDB (Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb), that fires the GBU-39 SDB from the HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System).

ANKA-3 dahili silah yuvasından ilk atışı TOLUN ile yaptı https://t.co/eeV1GkTe3S https://t.co/qJkCgycLjN pic.twitter.com/gVPOZpvktI

— tolgaozbekcom (@tolgaozbek_com) January 13, 2025

According to TurDef, TOLUN had “achieved important milestones such as four simultaneous hits and hitting its target under intense GPS jamming” after being dropped by an F-16 in early 2024. The report added that TOLUN would allow F-16s to attack eight targets at once, as it can carry two SADAK racks. “When dropped by fighter jets, TOLUN, guided by GNSS and INS, has a range of more than 110 km,” said TurDef.

ANKA III

The ANKA III flying-wing UCAV is slated to become Turkey’s leading reconnaissance-strike platform, poised to function as a ‘loyal wingman’ to the KAAN fighter, beside the Kizilelma. It made its maiden flight on Dec. 28, 2023. Late in May 2024, TAI’s CEO Temel Kotil also announced a twin-engine version that will fly at “supersonic speeds.” The ANKA III has also been photographed with a host of air-to-ground munitions.

Described as a “deep-strike stealth” unmanned aircraft by Daily Sabah, the ANKA III currently is capable of a high subsonic speed of Mach 0.7 and a cruising speed of Mach 0.42. It can touch 40,000 feet in its highest service ceiling and, with a maximum take-off weight of 6,500 kg, it can carry 1,200 kg of payload with an endurance of 10 hours.

Türkiye’s UCAV ANKA III made its maiden flight. ANKA III powered by a jet engine, has a high payload carrying capacity, and is less visible on radar with its tailless structure. It can carry ISR payloads, air-ground munitions, air-to-air ammunition & radar systems pic.twitter.com/lSEAztaYMr

— Varun Karthikeyan (@Varun55484761) December 29, 2023

Turkish defense handles had long said that future variants of the ANKA III will be air-to-air and EW/ELINT (Electronic Warfare/Electronic Intelligence) capable. The ANKA III-TOLUN internal weapons bay test might also inform the development of the KAAN fighter, that similarly has an internal ordnance carriage.

As per Yusuf Erim, editor of TRT World, this is the “first time a munition has been launched from the internal bay by a Turkish aircraft,” marking a “big step towards stealthier drones and jets.” Some Turkish defense analysis handles have said that the ANKA III currently flies with a Ukrainian-made engine, and the UCAV will fly with indigenous powerplants made by TEI “in the coming years.”