The Bayraktar Akıncı that Azerbaijan unveiled on 9 February. (President of the Republic of Azerbaijan)
Turkish company Aselsan announced during the Azerbaijan International Defence Exhibition 2024 (ADEX 2024) held in Baku from 24 to 26 September that Azerbaijan has placed an order for its Tolun glide bomb and ASELFLIR-500 electro-optical system for use on the country's new Bayraktar Akıncı unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Aselsan told Janes that deliveries are planned for 2025.
The company also said that it had signed agreements on communication and information security systems with the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense (MoD) and memoranda of understanding on electronic warfare with the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense Industry's National Aerospace Agency and with the Ministry of Defense Industry's Scientific Research Institution covering joint production in Azerbaijan of Aselsan smart munitions. It did not identify the munitions.
The Tolun weighs 139 kg and has a range of up to 100 km, depending on what altitude it is released. The standard version uses global navigation satellite services (GNSS)/inertial navigation system (INS) guidance and has already been integrated on the Akıncı. The Tolun-IIR version adds imaging infrared (IIR) guidance that enables the weapon to be manually guided to its target.
Baykar Technologies, Akıncı's manufacturer, released a video on 17 September showing a Tolun-IIR being launched from the UAV and being successfully steered towards a target by an operator in the ground control station.
Aselsan announced the first export order for the Tolun in August 2023, saying it was worth USD36 million and the weapon would be used with the undisclosed customer's Akıncıs. The United Arab Emirates was subsequently identified as the customer.
For more information, please see Azerbaijan unveils first Akıncı UAV .
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