DEFENSE NEWS - Successful test of a naval swarm drone attack

Türkiye successfully tested, in early October (likely on the 8th), a swarm attack of naval drones against a sea target. This test took place off the coast of Mersin (South coast of the Mediterranean Sea). According to Turkish authorities, this was a world first, as the target identification and guidance of the naval drones were conducted by an aerial drone.

Following the scenario of the Sinking Exercise (SINKEX) in this joint operation of naval drones and an aerial drone (Joint USV-UAV Operation), 8 ALBATROS-S naval drones, including one carrying a military payload, and a BAYRAKTAR TB2 aerial drone from the Turkish Navy were tasked with destroying a previously decontaminated target boat to avoid environmental damage. The 22-meter-long target sank minutes after the impact of the "kamikaze" naval drone, while the other naval drones moved away before the explosion.

Initiated and coordinated by the Turkish Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), the "Swarm USV" Project was entrusted to ASELSAN, which oversees the project management and development of the ALBATROS-S drone. The other two partner companies involved in the trials are BAYKAR, which manufactures the BAYRAKTAR TB2 drone, and ROKETSAN, which provided the military payload for the naval drone.

The first phase of the project concluded in August 2021 after an initial demonstration involving 4 ALBATROS-S drones. Another demonstration took place on June 19, 2022, in the Sea of Marmara, with the participation of various types of naval drones including the MİR, jointly developed by ASELSAN and SEFİNE. The capability of the ALBATROS-S drone swarm of 8 drones was presented to SSB authorities in February 2023.

With a length of 7.20 meters, weighing 1.955 tons including a 250 kg payload, the ALBATROS-S can reach speeds exceeding 40 knots with its diesel engine, and has a range of 200 nautical miles. Besides target destruction, it can perform missions such as search and rescue, detection, and escort. Equipped with a multi-communications system architecture with Line-of-Sight (LOS) and Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) capabilities, it is designed to operate in a degraded environment without satellite guidance. Its announced autonomy is approximately 10 hours.



Article written by Patrice MOYEUVRE, General Officer in 2s of the French Air and Space Force, researcher at IRIS and Director of defense and security projects within Advantis.