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turkish-Made ‘Tlay‘ Drone Revives Ekranoplan Technology with AI Integration
Published: October 26,2023
A newly developed Turkish drone, dubbed ‘Tlay,’ is generating meaningful interest in the defense sector due to its unique design and capabilities, drawing parallels to the Soviet-era Ekranoplan.The drone utilizes ground effect, flying at extremely low altitudes – typically within a few meters of the surface – to achieve increased efficiency and reduced radar visibility. This technology, pioneered by rostislav Alexeyev in the 1960s with the KM and Lun-class Ekranoplans, had largely faded from prominence until now.
The Tlay drone boasts a payload capacity of 30 kilograms (approximately 66 pounds), allowing it to carry a diverse range of equipment. Its operational concept frequently enough involves single-flight missions, mitigating concerns about corrosion from saltwater exposure, a potential issue for prolonged use in maritime environments. Even in reconnaissance roles, the drone’s limited lifespan reduces the impact of saline water on its components.
While primarily operating at low altitudes, the Tlay is capable of ascending to a maximum altitude of 100 meters (approximately 328 feet) when required, enabling vertical take-off and landing capabilities. This allows for flexible deployment and operation in varied terrains.
A key feature of the Tlay drone is its integrated artificial intelligence (AI). Turkish engineers are developing the capability for swarm operations, where multiple drones collaborate and divide tasks to achieve a unified objective. This networked approach substantially enhances operational effectiveness and resilience. The resurgence of Ekranoplan principles in the Tlay drone represents a notable advancement in unmanned aerial vehicle technology.
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Illustration of Soviet screenses. Wikimedia
In Russian “EkranoplanThis type of aircraft, also known as “, was specially designed to fly only at a height of the sea surface, to fly at about 1 to 5 meters. If this is true, the revitalization of this largely abandoned technology outside Russia may give important clues to the long -term abilities of the Chinese army. Especially ChineseConsidering that coastal and island operations are of great importance in any conflict that can be experiencedโฆ
In fact, for this reason, China makes an active effort to hire Russian experts.
Neither airplane nor boat
The screenings that are noticed by Naval News and confirmed by photos shared on social media may seem strange at first glance. While a normal aircraft can fly thousands of meters a height, why does one need a design that only goes a few meters above the sea surface? The relative unknownness of these planes, For this reason, it caused most countries to give up this design. Other than the Soviet Union, no army did not use screenses.
But now they’re going back to the stage. Some civil initiatives bring this design to the agenda for cargo transportation, and now Pentagon Even evaluating the idea of โโputting them into military service. WIG The design has a few advantages that seem very attractive in the current strategic environment.
Lifting force with air flow
A wing on it quickly air The flow creates the lifting force by directing the flow. This is a good feature, but the screenings go one step further, intentionally pushing the air below the wing, This air hit the sea surface and jumps up and headed again, which is called the “Ground Effect”. In this way, extra lifting force is achieved at much lower speeds, which makes it much more efficient than normal aircraft in terms of fuel. However, in order to benefit from this advantage vehicle It must remain very close to the sea surface.
On land, this is useless because of trees and rugged lands. However, this is possible in sea, especially in calm waters. For this reason, all of the Soviet designs were made to work on the sea. This emerged faster than boats that had to move forward in the water, consuming less fuel than aircraft and flying at a lowly low -flying vehicle to be detected by radars. Most importantly, he could take off directly over the sea and land in the sea. This may be of great importance in the near future.
China’s ‘vital importance’ islands
“Would you like to control a $ 5 trillion -dollar trade a year? China wants China.” According to Business Insider, the South China Sea is about so much trade every year. And China gradually begins to adopt this region like its own land. Sometimes it does this by building new islands from scratch and establishing military bases on them. Sometimes he claims that he owns a small piece of land and then owned the surrounding sea.
In the statements of Jalopnik, “Of course, it is useful to remind a clear truth:
Taiwan is an island. If a military conflict containing China arises, the South Chinese Sea and the islands will play a central role. This means that the sides of the conflict will want to deliver soldiers and materials to those islands, which usually does not have a runway or airport. This creates a major restriction for traditional shipping aircraft. But not for screencles. Because the WIG planes land, not land, but the sea. So they don’t need runways. As long as the waves are calm enough, they can reach almost any shore. According to China Talk, the old Soviet models could carry hundreds of soldiers or several tanks. Some were missiles loaded with missiles, both aircraft and boat and war platformโฆ
