Turkish Drone Maker Baykar's Sixth Fergani Satellite Reaches Orbit in Bid to Break Free of GPS

Baykar-linked Fergani Space launched its sixth test satellite, the 160-kilogram FRG-100D4, aboard a SpaceX Bandwagon-5 mission from Florida on October 20, 2026. The spacecraft reached an approximately 590-kilometer orbit carrying in-house avionics, attitude-control components and enhanced navigation and broadband communications equipment. It contributes to the proposed Uluğ Bey constellation, which Fergani now describes as a network of more than 200 low-Earth-orbit satellites for independent positioning and connectivity services. The successful flight is a technology-validation milestone, not evidence that the planned navigation constellation is already operational.