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| Specifications of Alpin, Turkey's First Unmanned Helicopter Domestic Production |
Ankara - Turkish engineering company Titra is building the country's first unmanned helicopter. The Turkish government supports this program and includes it in the list of regional priority investments that will be co-financed by the government.
Titra said it would produce 10 unmanned helicopters named Alpin annually, in addition to producing 250 kamikaze drones per year. It is said that the Turkish government will become the first buyer of this helicopter when it successfully passes field trials.
"The government will become the purchaser after successful field trials, hoping that, once proven in combat, the system will be exported to friendly countries," a procurement official was quoted as saying by Defense News.
The Alpin helicopter drone measures 7 m in length, 1.5 m in width, 2.35 m in height and 6.28 m in rotor diameter. This helicopter with an empty weight of 340 kg can be easily transported in a vehicle. The helicopter can carry a maximum payload of 200 kg including fuel.
With its long-range flying capability, the company says this helicopter can be used for both military and civilian purposes, including for rescue missions. Alpin's heli-drone design is based on the Italian-made manned ultralight helicopter, the CH-7.
Alpin development began in 2019 when Titra signed a deal with UAVOS, a US-based drone specialist. Under the agreement, Titra and UAVOS will convert the CH-7 into a twin-wing rotary unmanned helicopter. Alpin made its first flight in 2020.
Alpin unmanned helicopters are equipped with broadband satellite communication channels that support operations in remote areas and transmit data in real time.
Other features include a fully redundant autopilot system on board, a fully autonomous take-off and landing system, remote ground control network capability, autorotation landing capability, and high-efficiency flight control.
Other high-precision payloads include hyper-spectral, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) cameras. Alpin is powered by a Rotax 914 UL engine with a power output of 115 hp. The maximum cruising speed is 160 km/hour.
This drone has a maximum range of 840 km and can fly at an altitude of up to 5,000 m. Maximum endurance is 7 hours, or 2 hours on a full charge.