STM ALPAGU Drone Enters Türkiye’s Arsenal Advancing Scalable and Precise Strike Capabilities
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STM announced on 24 October 2025 that its fixed-wing loitering munition ALPAGU successfully completed acceptance trials and has entered Türkiye’s inventory. This fielding expands Ankara’s indigenous low-cost precision-strike toolkit and gives partners a compact option for time-sensitive, dispersed targets
On 24 October 2025, STM announced that its fixed-wing loitering munition ALPAGU has completed acceptance tests and formally entered Türkiye’s inventory, a milestone that crowns several years of national development and early export traction in 2023. The announcement frames ALPAGU as the latest addition to a maturing family of tactical UAVs conceived for high-precision effects at low logistical cost. For operators facing dispersed, time-sensitive targets and urban clutter, the system promises a portable strike option with limited signature and high accuracy. The development is relevant because it broadens Türkiye’s indigenous precision-strike ecosystem while offering partners an alternative in a rapidly growing market, as announced by STM.
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ALPAGU is a sub-2 kg fixed-wing loitering munition developed by STM for rapid, AI-assisted precision strikes in urban, cross-border, and counter-terrorism operations, offering squad-level portability, low signature, and swarming capability with minimal logistical burden (Picture Source: STM / Army Recognition Group)
ALPAGU is a lightweight, fixed-wing “kamikaze UAV” designed to deliver pinpoint effects against critical targets beyond line of sight. Weighing under 2 kg and featuring a compact, low-observable airframe, it couples electro-optical and infrared sensors with AI-assisted, image-processing guidance to locate, track and prosecute targets day or night under a man-in-the-loop control philosophy. After canister launch, the air vehicle can remain airborne for roughly 15 minutes and prosecute targets out to 8 km, arriving at dive speed with an electronic proximity fuze and safety architecture compliant with MIL-STD-331. The system architecture comprises the air vehicle, a shoulder-portable launcher and a ruggedized ground control station qualified to MIL-STD-810G, with a two-hour operator endurance and environmental hardening for expeditionary use. Setup in the field can be completed in about a minute by a single soldier, enabling surprise engagement windows and rapid shoot-and-scoot employment.
Beyond the baseline strike profile, ALPAGU’s network-centric design supports multi-launch and multi-mission employment. A mesh communication link lets a single control station supervise multiple air vehicles and, if desired, coordinate launches from land, naval or airborne platforms. This enables saturation of defended points, sequenced reconnaissance-strike cycles, or cooperative tactics such as decoying and pincer attacks against mobile targets. STM’s mission computer and flight-control stack provide fully autonomous navigation, while terminal identification and weapon release remain under operator authority, preserving positive control and facilitating rules-of-engagement compliance.
Developmentally, ALPAGU reflects STM’s iterative approach across surveillance, loitering and munition-drop UAVs, now culminating in a fixed-wing loitering munition tailored to counter-terrorism, cross-border operations and dense urban environments. Notably, ALPAGU achieved its first export in 2023 prior to domestic fielding, a sequence that underscores early international confidence in the design and the company’s ability to industrialize a compact precision-strike product. With domestic acceptance complete, serial deliveries inside Türkiye indicate the system has cleared qualification gates and transitioned to operational sustainment and training pipelines.
In capability terms, ALPAGU competes with the lightest class of loitering munitions globally. Its sub-2 kg mass, rapid one-man deployment and low radar cross-section differentiate it from heavier fixed-wing systems like Hero-30 or Switchblade-class solutions that generally trade weight for range or payload. While some peers offer longer reach, ALPAGU’s blend of portability, one-minute launch timeline and AI-assisted precision is optimized for contact-line engagements where a squad-level munition must appear, strike and vanish before counter-fires can cue. The mesh-network, multi-vehicle control further extends its utility into coordinated swarming behaviors without imposing the training or logistics burden of larger systems. Compared with quad-rotor loitering munitions designed for vertical strike at very short range, ALPAGU’s fixed-wing profile increases survivability and transit efficiency, especially when approaching defended targets from offset azimuths or when operating in cross-border scenarios that demand standoff ingress.
Strategically, ALPAGU strengthens Türkiye’s layered precision-strike architecture at the tactical edge. In geostrategic terms, a domestically produced, export-proven micro-munition offers partners a route to enhance small-unit lethality without dependency on restricted supply chains, while giving Türkiye an instrument of defense diplomacy that aligns with growing demand for affordable precision effects. Militarily, units gain an organic means to neutralize command posts, jammer masts, light vehicles and firing points with limited collateral risk and reduced exposure to counter-battery sensors, aided by the munition’s low observable profile and short time-to-launch. The multi-platform integration pathway, from vehicles to small vessels and aircraft, suggests a path to distributed, multi-domain kill webs in which ALPAGU nodes cue each other or higher-end strike assets, raising the cost of defense for adversaries and complicating their sensor-to-shooter chains.
ALPAGU’s entry into service formalizes a new tier of portable precision strike for Türkiye and signals a broader shift toward highly deployable, networked loitering munitions as standard kit at small-unit level. By pairing a sub-2 kg, low-signature airframe with AI-enabled target processing, rapid single-soldier launch and multi-vehicle control, STM has positioned ALPAGU to reshape how squads and platoons generate stand-off effects in cluttered battlespaces and along contested borders. As domestic deliveries ramp and export interest builds on the back of 2023’s initial sale, the system is set to expand operator choice in the light-loitering segment and to anchor a scalable ecosystem of Turkish precision-strike capabilities for years ahead.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
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STM announced on 24 October 2025 that its fixed-wing loitering munition ALPAGU successfully completed acceptance trials and has entered Türkiye’s inventory. This fielding expands Ankara’s indigenous low-cost precision-strike toolkit and gives partners a compact option for time-sensitive, dispersed targets
On 24 October 2025, STM announced that its fixed-wing loitering munition ALPAGU has completed acceptance tests and formally entered Türkiye’s inventory, a milestone that crowns several years of national development and early export traction in 2023. The announcement frames ALPAGU as the latest addition to a maturing family of tactical UAVs conceived for high-precision effects at low logistical cost. For operators facing dispersed, time-sensitive targets and urban clutter, the system promises a portable strike option with limited signature and high accuracy. The development is relevant because it broadens Türkiye’s indigenous precision-strike ecosystem while offering partners an alternative in a rapidly growing market, as announced by STM.
ALPAGU is a sub-2 kg fixed-wing loitering munition developed by STM for rapid, AI-assisted precision strikes in urban, cross-border, and counter-terrorism operations, offering squad-level portability, low signature, and swarming capability with minimal logistical burden (Picture Source: STM / Army Recognition Group)
ALPAGU is a lightweight, fixed-wing “kamikaze UAV” designed to deliver pinpoint effects against critical targets beyond line of sight. Weighing under 2 kg and featuring a compact, low-observable airframe, it couples electro-optical and infrared sensors with AI-assisted, image-processing guidance to locate, track and prosecute targets day or night under a man-in-the-loop control philosophy. After canister launch, the air vehicle can remain airborne for roughly 15 minutes and prosecute targets out to 8 km, arriving at dive speed with an electronic proximity fuze and safety architecture compliant with MIL-STD-331. The system architecture comprises the air vehicle, a shoulder-portable launcher and a ruggedized ground control station qualified to MIL-STD-810G, with a two-hour operator endurance and environmental hardening for expeditionary use. Setup in the field can be completed in about a minute by a single soldier, enabling surprise engagement windows and rapid shoot-and-scoot employment.
Beyond the baseline strike profile, ALPAGU’s network-centric design supports multi-launch and multi-mission employment. A mesh communication link lets a single control station supervise multiple air vehicles and, if desired, coordinate launches from land, naval or airborne platforms. This enables saturation of defended points, sequenced reconnaissance-strike cycles, or cooperative tactics such as decoying and pincer attacks against mobile targets. STM’s mission computer and flight-control stack provide fully autonomous navigation, while terminal identification and weapon release remain under operator authority, preserving positive control and facilitating rules-of-engagement compliance.
Developmentally, ALPAGU reflects STM’s iterative approach across surveillance, loitering and munition-drop UAVs, now culminating in a fixed-wing loitering munition tailored to counter-terrorism, cross-border operations and dense urban environments. Notably, ALPAGU achieved its first export in 2023 prior to domestic fielding, a sequence that underscores early international confidence in the design and the company’s ability to industrialize a compact precision-strike product. With domestic acceptance complete, serial deliveries inside Türkiye indicate the system has cleared qualification gates and transitioned to operational sustainment and training pipelines.
In capability terms, ALPAGU competes with the lightest class of loitering munitions globally. Its sub-2 kg mass, rapid one-man deployment and low radar cross-section differentiate it from heavier fixed-wing systems like Hero-30 or Switchblade-class solutions that generally trade weight for range or payload. While some peers offer longer reach, ALPAGU’s blend of portability, one-minute launch timeline and AI-assisted precision is optimized for contact-line engagements where a squad-level munition must appear, strike and vanish before counter-fires can cue. The mesh-network, multi-vehicle control further extends its utility into coordinated swarming behaviors without imposing the training or logistics burden of larger systems. Compared with quad-rotor loitering munitions designed for vertical strike at very short range, ALPAGU’s fixed-wing profile increases survivability and transit efficiency, especially when approaching defended targets from offset azimuths or when operating in cross-border scenarios that demand standoff ingress.
Strategically, ALPAGU strengthens Türkiye’s layered precision-strike architecture at the tactical edge. In geostrategic terms, a domestically produced, export-proven micro-munition offers partners a route to enhance small-unit lethality without dependency on restricted supply chains, while giving Türkiye an instrument of defense diplomacy that aligns with growing demand for affordable precision effects. Militarily, units gain an organic means to neutralize command posts, jammer masts, light vehicles and firing points with limited collateral risk and reduced exposure to counter-battery sensors, aided by the munition’s low observable profile and short time-to-launch. The multi-platform integration pathway, from vehicles to small vessels and aircraft, suggests a path to distributed, multi-domain kill webs in which ALPAGU nodes cue each other or higher-end strike assets, raising the cost of defense for adversaries and complicating their sensor-to-shooter chains.
ALPAGU’s entry into service formalizes a new tier of portable precision strike for Türkiye and signals a broader shift toward highly deployable, networked loitering munitions as standard kit at small-unit level. By pairing a sub-2 kg, low-signature airframe with AI-enabled target processing, rapid single-soldier launch and multi-vehicle control, STM has positioned ALPAGU to reshape how squads and platoons generate stand-off effects in cluttered battlespaces and along contested borders. As domestic deliveries ramp and export interest builds on the back of 2023’s initial sale, the system is set to expand operator choice in the light-loitering segment and to anchor a scalable ecosystem of Turkish precision-strike capabilities for years ahead.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
