Havelsan BAHA

The Havelsan BAHA (short for *Bulut Altı İnsansız Hava Aracı*, meaning "sub-cloud unmanned aerial vehicle") is a Turkish autonomous vertical take-off and landing drone built by HAVELSAN, primarily for border security forces. It is designed to fly beneath cloud cover, a situation where other UAVs often fail to capture usable imagery due to poor weather. The system is operated from a land vehicle. Development took one year at HAVELSAN. The BAHA was first shown at the International Anatolian Eagle 2021 exercise at Konya’s 3rd Main Jet Base Command in June–July. By early October 2021, it had completed a flight test at 7,500 feet (2,300 m) altitude, 10 km (6.2 mi) from its ground support center. It can perform surveillance, reconnaissance, imagery intelligence, signal relay, and resist radio jamming. Maximum takeoff weight is 30 kg (66 lb), with a payload capacity of 6 kg (13 lb). The electric version has a 2-hour endurance; the fuel-powered version lasts 2.5 hours. A project to centrally control a swarm of 20–30 BAHA units from a single land vehicle was underway and expected to be finished by mid-2021. In 2022, the UAV was redesigned to meet Turkish Armed Forces requirements. The BAHA has a wingspan of 3.70 m (12.1 ft). With its gasoline engine, it can stay airborne up to six hours; with an electric engine, up to two hours. It operates at altitudes up to 15,000 ft (4,600 m) and has a service range of 80 km (50 mi). Payload capacity is 5 kg (11 lb). Two people can set it up quickly, and one person can operate it, with the system ready for duty in minutes. The BAHA is used to obtain initial imagery of areas inaccessible due to natural disasters, and for tracking, detection, area protection, intelligence, electronic warfare, coastal and border security, energy transmission and oil-gas line inspection, anti-smuggling, anti-terrorism, public order, narcotic plant detection, residential thermal measurement, forest fire management, post-disaster assessment, environmental pollution detection, agriculture, and cartography. After exports to the Nigerian military and to Central Asia, the BAHA was delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces at the end of December 2023.