Turkish Songar drones explained: Pakistan fired Asisguard-made UAVs with in-built grenade launchers and machine guns towards India

Indonesian servicemen with an Asisguard Songar drone | X

Pakistan violated Indian airspace to target military installations on the intervening night of May 8 and 9, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said on Friday while briefing the media amidst the ongoing tensions between the neighbouring nuclear powers. Speaking to reporters alongside  Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, the IAF Wing Commander said Pakistan sent 300-400 Songar drones targeting 36 locations from Leh to Sir Creek to target Indian military installations. However, the effort didn't succeed as the majority of these drones were shot down.

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Elaborating further, Singh said that Islamabad used civilian airliners as a shield to deter Indian counterattacks after using the Turkish-origin "Asisguard Songar" drones.

 

TCG Büyükada a warship of the Turkish Navy had arrived at the Karachi port on Sunday amidst the tensions. A known ally of Pakistan, Turkey is one of Islamabad's notable defence suppliers, reportedly contributing 4% of Pakistan's total arms imports between 2016 and 2022.

 

 

Asisguard Songar drones are Turkish state-of-the-art war equipment that is being used by Indonesia and Nigeria apart from Pakistan. The advanced varieties of these UAVs are capable of executing direct impact on targets through controlled free-fall deployment and can fire upto eight grenades. Some models are equipped with machine gun systems that can fire NATO class 5.56x45mm rounds with a maximum ammunition load capacity of 200 rounds. Here are five facts that you need to know about the Ankara-made drones that were fired against India by Pakistan:

 

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1. 'SONGAR' drones are designed and manufactured by ASİSGUARD, a subsidiary of Asia Electronics and Information Systems in Ankara. Introduced in 2019, Asisguard Songar is the first domestic armed drone system to be operated by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF). It is also Turkey's first drone with an integrated machine gun and grenade launcher, the company website claimed.

 

2. The drones can reportedly be used to accomplish a variety of tasks including locating targets, aerial offence to take out threats, transferring real-time images and carrying out post-operation damage assessment. Asisguard had earlier claimed that its prestigious product is one of the finest in asymmetric warfare as a result of its firing accuracy.

 

3. Each Songar drone reportedly has a width of 145cm from rotor to rotor and height of 70cm. It has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 45kg. Songar drones are also equipped with advanced features such as return-home on link-loss, in-flight mission change, and autonomous and remote-control modes. It also has the capability to perform visual battle damage assessments.

 

4. Songar drones are equipped with night sensors that make it possible for them to strike during nocturnal hours within a range of 10km. They also have two cameras including a pilot camera with 10x zoom and a gun-mounted camera. These cameras are capable of transmitting video and real-time images, a report said.

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5. In 2020, it was said that these drones can ascend to an altitude of up to 2,800m at mean sea level and 400m above ground level. The company has said that "Songar is undergoing continuous improvement through intensive efforts". Thus it is possible that improved and better-equipped varieties of the UAV is now available. 

 

 

 

According to the Asisguard website, Songar comes in five variants:

 

  • SONGAR 3X81 MM MORTAR GRIPPER (Able to perform 35 minutes of duty without payload)

  • SONGAR 5.56 X 45 MM ASSAULT RIFLE (Compatible with 5.56 caliber 45 mm NATO standard firearms)

  • SONGAR 2X40 MM GRENADE LAUNCHER (400-450 meters of effective range; firing up to 2 grenades)

  • SONGAR 6X40 MM DRUM TYPE GRENADE LAUNCHER (Firing up to 6 grenades)

  • SONGAR 8 X TEAR / SMOKE GRENADE LAUNCHER (Executes direct impact on target through controlled free-fall deployment; firing up to 8 grenades)

 

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