What Is Asisgard Songar Drone? Turkish UAV Used By Pakistan To Attack India
Pakistan used 300-400 Turkish Songar drones in failed attacks on India. All were neutralised by Indian aerial defences. Learn about Songar's weapons, capabilities, and its maker, Asisguard.
The Centre on Friday, May 9, said Pakistan used Turkish-made Songar drones to attack civilian and military installations along India's Western border. Pakistan used 300-400 drones to target the Indian sites. However, none of the drones managed to hit their targets and were detected and shot down by India's aerial defence systems.
What Is ASISGARD?
Asisgard is a Turkish defence innovator headquartered in the capital Ankara. It states its mission objective: "To develop innovative solutions, and in doing so, to strengthen the Turkish defence sector and to share the outcomes with friendly countries." It is involved in the development of "critical national and indigenous solutions as Electro-Optical Imaging and Border Security Systems, Military Vehicle Electronics, Rotary-Wing Armed/Unarmed Drone Systems and Display System solutions".
What Is The Songar Drone?
Developed by ASISGUARD, Songar is the first armed unmanned Aerial Vehicle system to enter the Turkish armed forces' inventory. It can also be controlled remotely.
First unveiled at the 2019 International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul, Songar quickly drew global attention for its unique blend of autonomy, firepower, and adaptability. This quadrotor drone can be operated in both autonomous and manual modes, featuring advanced route-planning, real-time video transmission, and automatic return-to-base functionality should it lose connection or run low on power. Designed for both attack and defence, Songar is capable of day and night operations, making it a versatile asset for military and security forces.
Songar Video Transmission And Weapons
The Songar system can even broadcast real-time video and operate within a mission radius of up to 5 km. Fitted with both daylight and infrared cameras, Songar provides real-time imagery and telemetry, enabling operators to conduct reconnaissance, assess post-strike damage, and coordinate multi-drone missions.
The drone's modular design allows for integration with various weapons, including grenade launchers and mini-missile systems. Songar can be equipped with a stabilised automatic machine gun, capable of firing up to 200 rounds of 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition in adjustable bursts. It can also fire 7.62×39 mm calibre rounds. The Songar drones can also be equipped with two 40 mm grenade launchers.
Apart from these, the Songar can carry payloads of mortar gripper and smoke grenade launcher. With barrel rotation between +5 degrees and -45 degrees on elevation axis, its recoil-damping system and gun stabiliser ensure high accuracy, even during rapid fire. The firing range of the drone is nearly 400 m.
Clearly, even with its advanced features, the Songar drone was no match for India's aerial defence systems as none of them managed to cause any damage.
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