TAI Gözcü is a

radio-controlled Radio control (often abbreviated to RC) is the use of control signals transmitted by radio to remotely operate a device. Examples of simple radio control systems are garage door openers and keyless entry systems for vehicles, in which a small h ...

short-range tactical drone. Designed, developed and built by

Turkish Aerospace Industries Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (, TAI or TUSAŞ) is a state-owned Arms industry, arms company in Turkey. History On 16 August 1925 the Turkish Aircraft and Engine Limited Company ''()'' factory was founded in Kayseri, Turkey. The company ...

(TAI), the

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...

(UAV) is in use by the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

purposes. Gözcü is the Turkish word for observer.

Overview

Built of composite material, the drone is launched from a catapult, and is recovered by parachute. It has max. takeoff weight and can reach an altitude of . Having max. payload capacity, TIA Gözcü carries EO/ IR sensor, and transfers real-time video imagery in a range up to . It has waypoint navigation and autonomous flight capabilities. The UAV with delta wings and V-tail is propelled by a

Wankel engine The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric (mechanism), eccentric Pistonless rotary engine, rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. The concept was proven by German engineer Felix Wankel, f ...

pusher configuration In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with propulsion device(s) after the engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, wh ...

having , and can cruise with a max. speed of . Its endurance is over 120 minutes.

Development

The

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...

of the drone took place on March 6, 2007. The first flight with camera was on April 4, 2007. The prototype of TAI Gözcü was presented to public at the International Defence Industry Fair IDEF in Mai 2007, and took part in the

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

parade end August the same year. The following flight tests in September 2007 showed that the UAV was in the beginning unable to monitor the vehicles in the terrain, over them it was flying, because it was too fast. Unlike the

target drone A target drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle, generally remote controlled, usually used in the training of anti-aircraft crews. One of the earliest drones was the British DH.82 Queen Bee, a variant of the Tiger Moth trainer aircraft operation ...

s the surveillance drones must fly slower, the TAI officials admitted. In 2011, it was reported that the flight tests were successfully completed. TAI Gözcü is intended to serve nonstop for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in military operations against infiltration and activities of terrorists in southeastern Turkey.

Specifications

References

External links

Images of TAI Gözcü at Facebook

Unmanned military aircraft of Turkey Gozcu Turkish military reconnaissance aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Delta-wing aircraft V-tail aircraft 2000s Turkish military aircraft {{UAV-stub

Overview

Development

Specifications

See also

References

External links