Türkiye’s Kizilelma Drone: A big moment for defence a Turkish uncrewed fighter jet shot down a jet-powered target plane during a test. This was the first time a UAV ever did this with a beyond-visual-range missile. The drone is called Bayraktar Kizilelma and it is made by the Turkish company Baykar. The test showed that this machine is not just for watching the sky. It can now take part in air battles like a real fighter jet.
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Baykar said the drone fired the missile from under its wing after it found and followed the target with ASELSAN’s MURAD AESA radar. TRT World reported that this moment was also the first time in Turkish aviation where a homegrown aircraft used a fully local missile and a local radar system at the same time. The report said, “The latest test establishes Kizilelma as the world’s first verified UAV with proven air-to-air combat capability.”
Strong Teamwork
During the test flight five F-16 jets from the Merzifon air base flew next to the drone. This showed how human pilots and uncrewed aircraft can work together in the same mission. Kizilelma has a shape that does not reflect much radar signal, so enemy planes have a hard time seeing it. Its sensors can also find other aircraft from far away while it stays hidden.
The drone carries new systems like the MURAD radar and the TOYGUN targeting system. In older tests it already dropped weapons like TOLUN and TEBER-82 with high accuracy. This new test proved that the drone can now do both air strikes and air-to-air fights.
What the Kizilelma can do?
Baykar’s website says the Kizilelma is 14.5 metres long, 3.5 metres tall and has a wingspan of 10 metres. The company designed it in subsonic, transonic and supersonic versions. It can carry missiles, laser-guided bombs and long-range cruise missiles, reported ET. The drone can take up to 1,500 kg of weapons.
It can reach a top speed of 0.9 Mach and cruise at 0.6 Mach. It can fly 500 nautical miles in combat and reach 25,000 feet. It can stay in the air for more than three hours and has a maximum take-off weight of 8.5 tons.
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Kizilelma can also move fast in sharp turns. It can take off and land on short-runway carriers. Its AESA radar gives it strong awareness of everything around it. Its low radar cross-section helps it stay safe because other radars struggle to find it.
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