In the Turkish city of Mersin, a successful test of the Albatros-S maritime drone kamikaze, developed by Aselsan, was conducted. During these trials, one Albatros-S drone managed to successfully target the vessel with a 69-meter-long hull, which quickly sank after being struck. It’s worth noting that all flammable materials were removed from this vessel before the tests, showing a concern for environmental safety.
To observe the precision of the Albatros-S kamikaze boat hitting its target, the Bayraktar TB2 was deployed. Additionally, the testing included the evaluation of using a group of eight Albatros-S units simultaneously. This information is detailed in a publication on the SavunmaSanayiST portal.
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It appears that the Albatros-S kamikaze boat project is essentially the first known Turkish kamikaze boat project that has progressed to the implementation stage and has successfully undergone testing.
According to the SavunmaSanayiST portal, it’s possible that an existing multi-purpose maritime drone with the same name, which was known about as early as June 2022, could have been used for the Albatros-S kamikaze boat project.
It can be inferred that it likely took the engineers and designers slightly over a year, or perhaps even a shorter period, to convert a multi-purpose vessel into a kamikaze variant and fine-tune all the technological intricacies associated with the swarm application format.
The actual duration of the project’s execution would have depended on several factors, including project complexity, the availability of pre-existing technologies and prototypes, allocated resources and the team’s expertise. Nevertheless, the rapid development and successful testing of the Albatros-S kamikaze boat project reflect the high level of capability and efficiency within the Turkish defense industry.
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