New Turkish Kemankes loitering munition begins testing
The Kemankes 2 will be expected to be able to travel more than 200km. (Photo: Baykar video screengrab)
The Kemankes 2 was said to be designed to conduct deep-strike missions on high-priority targets.
Turkish drone maker Baykar has begun testing its new jet-powered Kemankes 2 loitering munition. The news came less than a year after the Kemankes was test-fired from a TB2 UAV.
The new version was said to be AI-powered and the recent test was conducted with a launch from speed pickup.
Specific capabilities and details of the Kemankes 2 were not revealed, but a video (see below) released by the manufacturer provided a glimpse of its features. The new cruise missile loitering munition appeared to be significantly larger than its predecessor, the Kemankes, which weighed 30 kg with a capacity for 6kg warheads.
Parts of the missile, including the wing, the engine and the tail fins, closely resembled the KaGeM-V3 which was jointly developed with Pakistan.
Equipped with an unknown jet engine enabling rapid travel and boasting a one-hour flight duration, the Kemankes 2 was designed to conduct deep-strike missions on high-priority targets. Baykar has claimed it has a range of more than 200km.
While the first Kemankes has been designed to be air-launched from Baykar UAVs such as the Akinci, Bayraktar TB2 and Bayraktar TB3, it was not clear what launch options the Kemankes 2 would feature once fully developed.
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