Turkish Land Forces Induct Havelsan Baha VTOL UAS

The Turkish Land Forces Command has officially inducted the domestically developed Havelsan Baha vertical-take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) into service, the Ministry of National Defense announced on April 25.

The number of units delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces was not disclosed. The induction follows three years after the Baha UAS was first introduced internationally at the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2022 event in South Africa. Initially presented as a small unmanned platform for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, Baha was designed to operate independently or alongside manned and unmanned air and ground systems.

The Baha UAS features a 4-meter wingspan, boom-mounted inverted V-tail, and four electrically driven propellers for vertical lift, complemented by a pusher-propeller for forward flight. According to Havelsan, the drone has a maximum take-off weight of 28 kilograms, including a 2-kilogram payload, a 50-kilometer datalink range, two hours of endurance, and a service ceiling of 10,000 feet. It operates optimally at altitudes up to 8,000 feet and can function in temperatures ranging from -10°C to +50°C, withstanding winds up to 25 knots.

The company described Baha as a "sub-cloud" surveillance drone, optimized for low- to medium-altitude operations beneath cloud cover. It is positioned as a middle-range platform between small tactical UAVs and larger long-range systems.

Baha's formal induction follows earlier prototype deliveries for evaluation in 2021.