Combat drone Bayraktar Kizilelma: Baykar reports another successful flight test

There is good news for the Turkish company Baykar Technology: the prototype of the Bayraktar Kizilelma combat drone has successfully completed another flight test. Development is thus progressing on schedule – in future, the Bayraktar Kizilelma is to become Türkiye's first unmanned fighter jet.

The latest test took place at the Akinci Flight Training and Test Center in Tekirdağ, where the aircraft also carried out system identification activities. Experience from earlier test series fed into modifications to the production prototype, including structural improvements to the avionics architecture.

During these flights, the aircraft flew with a successfully integrated alternative engine with afterburner. The new, more powerful engine brings it close to the speed of sound; aerodynamic improvements allow better manoeuvrability at higher speeds. The prototype also carries a powerful AESA radar.

Combat drone with a short development time

The Bayraktar Kizilelma project was launched in 2021. The first prototype rolled off the line as early as 14 November 2022 and went to the test centre in Akinci for ground tests. Once these were completed, the maiden flight followed on 14 December of the same year – so the unmanned fighter jet was airborne after just over a year. In the first half of 2023, formation flights with the Bayraktar Akinci, an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), were on the programme, as well as a close formation flight over Istanbul together with the “Solotürk” F-16 fighter jet and the F-5 jets known as the “Turkish Stars”.

The Bayraktar Kizilelma is designed to operate from ships with short take-off and landing runways as well. This makes the “TCG Anadolu”, Türkiye's first aircraft carrier, a potential platform for the unmanned fighter jets in future. According to a Baykar press release, this capability will mean that the Bayraktar Kizilelma will “play a decisive role in overseas operations”.