STM, one of the leading companies of the Turkish defense industry, continues to achieve export success in the international arena with the innovative and national systems it develops.
Developing modern and fast solutions for the changing battlefield, STM integrated an armor-piercing warhead into Türkiye’s first national strike UAV, “STM KARGU”, which it developed with national resources and is effectively used in the fight against terrorism, last year. After an intensive development phase, the armor-piercing KARGU, which entered the field, hit the determined targets with full accuracy in test shots. After hitting its targets with pinpoint precision in test shots, the armor-piercing ammunition-headed KARGU, which signed its first export in the past months, has also signed its second export contract.
STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz said, “We have realized our second export of the armor-piercing warhead version of our national strike UAV KARGU, which is in the inventory of Turkey and more than 10 countries. We will continue to increase our defense capacity and strengthen our international defense cooperation with our National Engineering capabilities.”
The Choice of More Than 10 Countries in Three Different Continents
The strike UAV KARGU, also known as the “kamikaze UAV” in the public, was developed by STM with domestic and national resources. KARGU, which entered the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces in 2018, is effectively used by various security forces in Türkiye, especially the TAF, in the fight against terrorism, special operations and cross-border operations. Drawing attention in the world arena, KARGU achieved its first export success in 2021 with its anti-personnel warhead, and by 2024, it was exported to more than 10 countries on three different continents.
Different Ammunition Options
Users can remove the anti-personnel ammunition head from KARGU and quickly replace the armor-piercing head, depending on the current situation in the field. KARGU is used against individual or grouped enemy elements with anti-personnel ammunition, while armor-piercing KARGU affects mobile and settled ground targets, durable structures and armored land vehicles.
Hard to detect in enemy territory
With its low radar cross-section feature, KARGU is difficult to detect in enemy territory and can be easily carried by a single soldier and set up in the mission area within 1 minute. The national strike UAV KARGU provides a significant surprise effect and operational superiority with its artificial intelligence and image processing capabilities, silence, and ability to deliver the explosive it carries to the target. Consisting of a strike rotary wing UAV (VIAV) and a ground control station, KARGU can operate effectively day and night with its advanced electro-optic and infrared cameras. KARGU, which can stay in the air for more than 30 minutes, has a range of 10 km. KARGU, which has mission abort, return home and self-destruct capabilities, is equipped with high-performance navigation and control algorithms. In addition to the swarm UAV technology that allows KARGUs to operate in swarms, there is also the KERKES Project that allows them to operate independently of GPS.
The name comes from old Turkish
KARGU, which means “mountaintop observation tower” and “hawk” in Old Turkish, navigates completely automatically with the help of a mission computer. KARGU is particularly responsible for detecting and neutralizing threats in risky areas before soldiers enter. KARGU, which operates completely under operator control with the “Man-in-the-Loop” principle, provides reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence and precision strike capabilities to user personnel by detecting and confirming targets in high-risk, complex conflict zones.
