The Colombian Aerospace Force travels to Turkey to study the operational capabilities of the TB3 UAV
The FAC’s interest in the Turkish prototype comes in the context of several offers of drones that operate at medium altitudes and with great autonomy
Senior officers of the Cofac of the Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC) traveled to Turkey to learn about the characteristics and operational capabilities of the new Baykar Bayrakter TB3 drone, a recently designed UAV whose first flight was in October 2023.
The FAC’s interest in the Turkish prototype comes in the context of several offers of remotely piloted aircraft operating at medium altitudes and long range (MALE). The force intends to renew its capabilities by replacing its Elbit Systems Hermes 900 and 450 in the medium term, despite the recently offered processes of updating, modernization and increase of capacities.
However, the performance offered by the TB3 would not be the same as those provided by the high-performance tactical RPAS system of the Airbus Sirtap (Atlante-II) type, in which Colombia is already a strategic partner, preliminarily aiming for up to 6 units of this model.
The TB3
The folding-wing TB3s have been designed to perform reconnaissance, surveillance and intelligence missions and for the deployment of weapons delivery from considerable distances, as a result of their line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight communication capabilities.
They have a maximum take-off weight of 1,450 kilos, a wingspan of 14 meters, a length of 8.35 meters and a height of 2.6 meters. They can carry a payload of up to 280 kilos, at a maximum speed of 296 kilometers per hour (PD170 turbodiesel engine) and stay in the air for more than 24 hours, reaching a flight ceiling of approximately nine kilometers.