Vestel Karayel

The Vestel Karayel is a surveillance, reconnaissance and later combat unmanned aerial vehicle system developed by Lentatek. The drone is currently operated by Turkish Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia.[1][2]

Karayel
Role Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle and unmanned combat air vehicle (armed variant)
National origin Turkey
Manufacturer Lentatek
First flight 30 April 2014
Primary users Turkish Armed Forces
Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia
Number built 16+

Design

The Karayel is designed and manufactured in accordance with NATO ‘Airworthiness’ standard; STANAG 4671. The Karayel system has novel triple redundant distributed avionics architecture which ensures protection against all kinds of uncontrolled crash. With this feature, systematic fault safety used only in manned aviation around the world until now, has been carried to an unmanned aerial vehicle for the first time with the Karayel. The aerial vehicle has the ability to protect against lightning thanks to the aluminum network grid on its composite structure. A de-Icing system automatically detects icing conditions allows operations in cold climates. The Karayel, which is an aerial reconnaissance and surveillance platform, can perform target marking, lighting and ammunition direction by its laser sensors and day/night target detection and identification by its camera system which it carries as payload.[3]

Specifications

Data from Vestel Savunma[4][5]

General characteristics

  • Crew: none on-board
  • Length: 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)
  • Wingspan: 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in)
  • Max takeoff weight: 550 kg (1,213 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × unspecified , 72 kW (97 hp)
  • Propellers: single blade, 1.45 m (4 ft 9 in) diameter

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 150 km/h (92 mph, 80 kn)
  • Endurance: 20 hours
  • Service ceiling: 6,900 m (22,500 ft)

Karayel-SU TUAV

Karayel-SU (SU; standing for Armed-Extended Wing) has a longer wingspan, as well as end-plates on its wing tips and two hardpoints for payload under each wing. Each one of the hardpoints can carry 30 kg, meaning that the total payload capacity of the Karayel-SU under its wings is 120 kg. The wing hardpoints can also be equipped with payloads other than munitions. The Karayel-SU also retains the ability to carry 50 kg EO/IR payload at the fuselage payload bay[6]

Technicial Specifications
  • Engine Power 1 × 97 HP (Sea Level)
  • Maximum Takeoff Weight : 630 kg
  • Wing Span : 13 m
  • Total Length : 6.5 m
  • Height : 2.11 m
  • Wing Useful Load : 120 kg
  • Trunk Payload : 50 kg
  • Flight Speed : 60-80 knots
  • Rate of Climb : 800 m/min
  • Operational Altitude 18.000 ft
  • Data Link Range: >150 km
  • Landing Distance  : <750 m
  • Airborne Time : 20 hours without ammunition, 12 hours with 60 kg load and 8 hours with 120 kg loaded
  • Navigation : Fully Autonomous or Manual, Day Camera (color) & IR Night Camera
  • Useful Load : Laser Range Finder, Laser Pointer & Laser Target Marker
  • Other Features : Triple redundant avionic architecture, fully autonomous take-off / flight / landing, Composite main structure.[7]

Other variants

CTech SATCOM On-The-Move terminals for unmanned aerial vehicles

  • DEV-KU-18 SATCOM On The Move Terminal mounted Vestel Karayel [8]
  • DEV-KA-12 SATCOM On The Move Terminal mounted Vestel Karayel[9]

Armaments

Operators
  •  Saudi Arabia - 6 Karayel UAVs in use, with another 40 to be deployed since 2021[19] in a timeframe of 5 years for the Saudi Armed forces.[20][1]
  •  Turkey - 10 Karayel-SU-TUAV-SOTM.[21][22]

Possible sales
  •  Hungary - The drone was tested at the Pápa Air Base on 2021 November 4.[23] There are also plans to produce a variant of the drone in Békéscsaba in a joint German-Turkish-Hungarian operation.[24]
  •  Kosovo - Kosovo Security Forces have in plan to buy 3 drone Karayel by 2023 (Government-to-Government (G2G) Procurement / donation with Turkish Ministry of Defense MoD / Turkey’s Military Financial Cooperation Agreement. Incl. 3× KARAYEL-SU AUV; 100× MAM-L anti tank missile; 100× MAM-C laser guided missile; 1× Ground Data Terminals (GDT); 1× Ground Control Stations (GCS); tools and test equipment, spare and repair parts, publications and technical documentation, personnel training, Turkish Government and contractor technical support services, and logistics support.The overall contract value is approximately 25.000.000 €).

Operational history
  • On 31 December 2019, during the Saudi led intervention in Yemen, Houthis fighters announced their forces shot down Saudi drones, one in Razih district in Saada and another in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.[25] Later the Houthis published footage of the downing and recovery of the remains of a Vestel Karayel drone from the Red Sea.[26][27]
  • On 6 January 2021, during the Saudi led intervention in Yemen, Houthi forces shot down a Vestel Karayel drone in al-Mahashimah, Al-Jawf province.[28][29]
  • On 7 March 2021, another Vestel Karayel drone is shot down in al-Maraziq, Al-Jawf province by Houthi air defenses.[30][31] Later publishing footage of the wreckage of the drone.[32]
  • On 21 May 2022, one Vestel Karayel drone was shot down by Houthi fighters in Hajjah governorate.[33] Later Houthis released footage of the drone wreck.[34]

See also

References
  1. "28.4.2020 - Saudi contract for Turkey's Karayel tactical UAS". ABG Strategic Consulting. 28 April 2020. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  2. Binnie, Jeremy (2 December 2020). "Karayel UAV lost over Yemen". Jane's Information Group. operated by Intra Defense Technologies
  3. "TURKISH DEFENCE INDUSTRY PRODUCT CATALOGUE". www.ssb.gov.tr. Archived from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  4. "Vestel Savunma - Ürün İnsansiz Hava Araci Si̇stemleri̇". Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Opall-Rome, Barbara (15 November 2017). "Turkey's newest armed drone makes debut at Dubai Airshow". Defense News. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  7. "VESTEL KARAYEL-SU İnsansız Hava Aracı". Millisavunma.com (in Turkish). 21 April 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  8. CTECH. "CTECH - DEV-KU-18 SATCOM On The Move Terminal". CTECH. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  9. CTECH. "CTECH - DEV-KA-12 SATCOM On The Move Terminal". CTECH. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  10. Eshel, Tamir (19 December 2015). "Turkish UMTAS Missile Dropped From a Bayraktar Tactical Drone | Defense Update". defense-update.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  11. Roblin, Sebastien (2 March 2020). "Turkish Drones and Artillery Are Devastating Assad's Forces In Idlib Province-Here's Why". Forbes. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  12. Frantzman, Seth J. (2 March 2020). "Turkish drones revolutionize Idlib conflict – analysis". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  13. "Roketsan's Smart Micro Guided Munitions Boost Effectiveness of UAVs". Asian Military Review. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  14. "Cırıt 2.75" Laser Guided Missile" (PDF). Roketsan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  15. Bekdil, Burak Ege (8 August 2017). "Turkey To Outfit Drones with Local Mini Rocket". Defense News.
  16. "TURKISH DEFENCE INDUSTRY PRODUCT CATALOGUE". www.ssb.gov.tr. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  17. Mehmet, Fatih (23 January 2020). "Asisguard ve Tübitak Sage TOGAN'ı SONGAR'a entegre etti". DefenceTurk (in Turkish). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  18. @miguyan2000 (28 February 2019). "TÜBİTAK SAGE Togan" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 April 2021 – via Twitter.
  19. Ege Bekdil, Burak (22 March 2021). "Two Saudi companies to produce Turkish drones". Defense News.
  20. "Saudi Arabia to Produce Turkish SIHA From 2021". RayHaber | RaillyNews. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  21. The Editor (3 June 2014). "Turkey's Vestel Tests Karayel UAS – UAS VISION". Retrieved 14 November 2020. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  22. "Military Knowledge: Karayel Drone". IWN. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  23. "Vestel Karayel-SU Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in Hungary". 6 November 2021.
  24. "An international military drone development project arrives in Békéscsaba". 30 March 2022.
  25. "Yemen's Houthis say shot down 2 drones - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2019.
  26. "Video: Shooting Down Saudi Coalition "Karayel" Drone". Islamic World News. 2 January 2021.
  27. Binnie, Jeremy (2 January 2020). "Karayel UAV lost over Yemen". Jane's Information Group.
  28. "Turkish drone shot down in Yemen". 7 March 2021.
  29. "Chiến trường Yemen: Houthi bắn hạ UAV của Ả rập Xê út". khoahocdoisong.vn (in Vietnamese). 6 January 2021.
  30. "Yemeni Air Defense Shot Down Fighting Drone, Al-Jawf". 7 March 2021. Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  31. "Yemen's Houthis say they downed a Saudi reconnaissance plane". Jerusalem Post. 7 March 2021.
  32. "New footage shows wreckage of Saudi spy plane downed over Jawf". Hodhod News. 9 March 2021.
  33. "Yemeni air defenses shoot down Saudi spy plane over Hajjah". Yemen Press Agency. 21 May 2022.
  34. "Video footage shows wreckage of Saudi spy plane downed over Hajjah". HodhodNews. 21 May 2022.
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