IDEF 2023: TİTRA Technology Unveils Its New PARS Observation UAV For The First Time
TİTRA Technology, a Turkish company operating in the fields of unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, and cyber security, debuted its new unmanned aerial vehicle called PARS for the first time at the 16th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF 2023) in Istanbul. Many company employees and members of the press attended the new system’s launch ceremony, including Mustafa Murat Şeker, vice president of the Turkish Defense Industry Agency, and Davut Yılmaz, TİTRA’s General Manager.
Davut Yılmaz, General Manager of the company, told Anadolu Agency that they have been working on the PARS project for about a year. Stating that they aim to create a reliable and robust product that can fly under the clouds, stay in the air for a long time and take images day and night, Yılmaz said, “Unfortunately, there are not many effective and reliable solutions in Turkey that can fly under the clouds and stay in the air for a long time. We began such a project to close this gap. The project has been tested for the past three months and has attained a high level of maturity. We only have a few tests remaining. I believe the tests will be finished this year in the coming days. We took care to make it as simple as possible while still being reliable when designing it. When used in the field, these kinds of products may necessitate extensive maintenance and repair. This can make the usage conditions difficult. Given this, we devised a product that requires as little maintenance and repair as possible while remaining affordable. That is how the story of PARS began.”
PARS is a high-capability Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) designed for military and commercial applications to provide precision intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) that has minimal radar visibility. PARS, which can stay in the air for 4 hours with its optimal flight mode, attracts attention with its 60km range, 400-500 meter operational altitude, and 50kph speed. The system, with a maximum take-off weight of 11.5kg and a wingspan of 3.5 meters, has a payload capacity of 2kg. The gimbal system of the PARS UAV includes an electro-optical (EO) camera weighing 1.5kg and capable of 30X zoom. The system’s infrared (LWIR) sensor offers night vision with a 5X zoom. The drone’s gimbal system, which can rotate 360 degrees horizontally, also includes a laser marker.
TİTRA General Manager Davut Yılmaz told an İhlas News Agency reporter that the PARS will work in tandem with the company’s DELI Tactical Kamikaze UAV. Yılmaz explained the concept of identifying the target with PARS and hitting it with DELİ, saying, “We are constructing a concept for PARS to capture the image, find the target, mark it, and then attack the target with the kamikaze [drone]. Our tests aren’t finished yet. The tests are still ongoing, but we only have a few months. Following that, I predict that it will be added to the inventory very soon. Because it is a situation that our military is very much looking forward to.”
In addition to the benefits it provides in areas such as border security, counter-terrorism, crime prevention, and detection, PARS can assist in responding quickly with real-time information by monitoring sensitive and dangerous areas using high-resolution cameras and thermal imaging systems. As a result, the system can be used to effectively monitor forest fires, natural disasters, environmental monitoring, and agricultural land monitoring.