Turkey’s Fixed-Wing Loitering Munition System ALPAGU Achieves Its First Export Success
ALPAGU, a fixed-wing loitering munition system developed by Defense Technologies Engineering (STM), a Turkish company operating in the defense and information technology sectors, has achieved its first export success. According to the company’s statement, the first batch of ALPAGU was delivered to an unnamed user country after passing all field tests. As a result, STM ALPAGU has become one of the platforms that has been successful in being exported before entering the Turkish inventory.
STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz commented on the development, saying, “Our Tactical Mini UAV family, which we developed for the first time in Turkey with our national engineering force for the needs of our country and our Army, is achieving new successes every day. Following the success of our rotary wing attack UAV KARGU, which we exported to over ten countries across three continents, we also exported our fixed wing attack UAV ALPAGU for the first time. We have made the first deliveries of ALPAGU to the customer’s authority, and we will continue to deliver to that country in the coming months. There is intense interest in ALPAGU from different continents and countries, as in our attack UAV KARGU and our spotter UAV TOGAN. We are currently negotiating new exports for ALPAGU with a number of countries. There are countries waiting in line for ALPAGU.”
Noting that contract negotiations for ALPAGU to enter the Turkish Armed Forces’ inventory are ongoing, Güleryüz stated, “With the completion of the negotiations, we will deliver a large number of ALPAGU to our Army. While equipping our Army with our national technologies, we will continue to contribute to the export targets of our defense industry through international sales”.
ALPAGU, which means “soldier attacking the enemy alone” in Old Turkish, is a short-range loitering munition designed for tactical level reconnaissance, surveillance, and accurate elimination of beyond-visual-range targets. The Alpagu system is made up of three components: a disposable aircraft, a launcher, and a ground control station. Alpagu weighs less than 2 kilograms and is designed to be very light and ergonomic due to its composite body and avionics design. As a result, Alpagu, which can be carried by a single soldier or deployed on various platforms (land-sea-air vehicles), can be ready for duty within 1 minute.
With its electro-optical and infrared cameras, Alpagu, which has a range of 10 kilometers, can operate effectively day and night. Alpagu can stay in the air for 15 minutes after being launched from the launcher. During this time, the system follows the specified target via image tracking software. If the operator fails to select a target or cannot find a suitable environment for attack, the mission can be aborted, and the system can self-destruct.
STM is also working with Roketsan on the ALPAGUT Loitering Ammunition System, which is a larger version of Alpagu that can carry heavier payloads, is faster, and has a longer range. Alpagut, which was unveiled at the 2022 SAHA EXPO in Istanbul, is expected to undergo its first test by the end of the year. It is estimated that it will take until 2025 for the system to complete all testing activities and become ready for service.