Chadian Air Force unveils Aksungur UAV

Chad's new Aksungur is seen warming up for take-off in a still from a video released by the AAT. (Armée de l'Air Tchadienne)

The Chadian Air Force (AAT) has revealed it has received at least one Turkish Aerospace (TUSAŞ) Aksungur unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

It released a video on 21 April that included footage of an Aksungur with AAT markings and the Turkish-format serial 23013 taking off from Adji Kosseï Air Base at N'Djamena International Airport armed with eight MAM-L small laser-guided bombs. The video also featured AAT personnel being trained by TUSAŞ in Türkiye.

The AAT operates at least two TUSAŞ Anka UAVs and three TUSAŞ Hürkuş-C turboprop light-attack aircraft, which were unveiled when President General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno visited Adji Kosseï Air Base in July 2023.

Initially called the Anka-2, the Aksungur is a twin-engine aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of 3,300 kg with a payload of more than 750 kg, according to TUSAŞ, compared with the Anka's 1,700 kg weight with a 350 kg payload. The TUSAŞ brochure says the Aksungur has a 50-hour endurance, although the company suggested it has not achieved this yet when it announced in January that the aircraft had performed a 41-hour flight.

The AAT is the second-known Aksungur export operator after Kyrgyzstan's Border Guard Service, which displayed one along with a heavier Bayraktar Akıncı when President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov visited its new UAV base at Issyk-Kul International Airport on 28 October 2023.

For more information on earlier delivery of Turkish aircraft, please seeChad confirms delivery of Hürkuş, Anka aircraft from Turkey .