Turkish AKSUNGUR Drone Drops aselBUOY Sonobuoys at TURNAs-2026, Detecting Underwater Targets

Turkish Aerospace’s AKSUNGUR unmanned aircraft dropped three ASELSAN aselBUOY 100P passive sonobuoys off Antalya during the Turkish Naval Forces’ TURNAs-2026 exercise, marking the first reported deployment of that sonobuoy from a UAV. The aircraft traveled to the exercise area under satellite control and transmitted acoustic data from the released sensors to operators in Ankara, who detected underwater targets. The demonstration lasted roughly four hours and tested an unmanned airborne contribution to anti-submarine surveillance rather than an operational submarine engagement. The activity involved Turkish-developed air and acoustic-sensing systems within a broader exercise integrating crewed and uncrewed maritime platforms.