Established in 2016 to coordinate high-tech defence and aerospace project and activities under a single roof, Ramsa Defence is one of the 15 companies that form the Turali Group, and at SAHA Expo it unveiled the Tural I concept UGV which is being developed in close connection with the Turkish military and retired military personnel
The 1:1 scale model presented at the Istanbul exhibition was made of welded plates and was not even a mock-up, the aim being to show the concept which is being worked out by the Research and Development division of the company, the other three being manufacturing, subsystems and academy inspiring division (in charge of training).
The Tural I is an all-electric wheeled platform with each wheel is independently steerable and is activated by an electric motor located in the hull. This allows the UGV to travel diagonally, also known as crab movement, or to pivot on the spot reducing to nil the turning radius. A compact vehicle, 2.65 metres long, 2.58 metres wide and 1.8 metres high, it can transport at the same time two small UGVs, which access the vehicle via a ramp at the front, one wounded soldier, a stretcher finding place on the left inside the vehicle via the back door, and eight mini-UAVs/loitering munitions, located in two side sponsons right and left on top of the UGV, the Tural I being also fitted with a remotely controlled weapon station armed with a small calibre machine gun installed at the centre of the vehicle roof. All these systems fit within the 700 kg payload, curb mass being 2 tonnes. In the full-electric configuration the Tural I can reach a maximum speed of 30 km/h and has an operational endurance of 16 hours, the Turkish battery specialist, all other subcomponents being also of national origin. EDR On-Line understood that the company is ready to switch to a hybrid propulsion system, which should further increase endurance, and is also considering to extend the concept to a 6×6 platform.
Ramsa Defence is developing on its own the autonomy package, the design team including software engineers who are dealing with this side of the development. Navigation on waypoints and automatic patrol exploiting the obstacle detection capability provided by radar, LIDAR and optronic sensors will be standard, as well as the return to base function in case of contact loss, albeit this should be uncommon as the UGV can be fitted with a wide range of communication equipment ranging from 4G up to SATCOM.
The concept model seen at SAHA Expo will become a prototype within 2025, when the Tural I will start company trials. According to Ramsa Defence sources the company aims at providing its UGV to foreign friendly nations, and it awaits a first contract in late 2025, with other export customers having shown an interest for the privately funded system.
News: EDR ON-LINE