Bayraktar unmanned fighter jet hits air target with missile for first time. So far, only in training

In Turkey, the Bayraktar Kizilelma attack drone has successfully hit an air target with a jet engine during a test. This is the first successful drone attack on a target with an air-to-air missile in history.

This was reported by the development company Baykar.

The Kizilelma prototype was first presented at an exhibition in August 2022. It is positioned as a deck-mounted supersonic UAV with a turbojet engine and is called an unmanned fighter.

It is currently known that it can carry 1 500 kg of payload (weapons, devices, etc.). Its claimed maximum speed is 1 100 kmph, and its flight radius is over 900 kilometers. Its operating altitude is 7.6 kilometers, and its maximum altitude is 13.7 kilometers. It can operate in the air for more than three hours.

In April 2023, Turkey launched its first light aircraft carrier, the TCG Anadolu, designed for drones and helicopters. The ship is 231 m long and 32 m wide. The ship can remain at sea autonomously for 50 days. It is the largest ship in the countryʼs Navy.

In August, the companyʼs CEO Selcuk Bayraktar reported the start of mass production of Kizilelma drones.

• It was previously reported that Kizilelma will be equipped with Ukrainian engines: in 2021, Baykar Makina ordered AI-322F and AI-25TLT jet engines from the state-owned enterprise Ivchenko-Progress. It is currently unknown whether they will be installed.

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