Senior Turkish aerospace officials expect the Turkish Air Force to order over 50 ANKA III stealth unmanned combat aerial vehicles in 2026, signalling a decisive move into procurement and serial production. Turkish Aerospace Industries CEO Dr. Mehmet Demiroğlu stated that the programme has passed its critical design review, frozen its configuration and begun production-related work, reflecting a shift from development to operational planning amid an intensive year for Türkiye’s aerospace sector.
The timing aligns with ANKA III’s growing technical maturity. Following dozens of verification flights—including a 46th sortie in December 2025 validating autonomous flight-control functions—the focus is increasingly on operational availability, sustainment concepts and integration into networked air operations. While no contract has yet been announced, an order of this scale would typically drive early planning for training, logistics, software evolution and mission-system resilience as the UCAV moves toward sustained service use.
