The Turkish manufacturer of combat drones Baykar has tested a prototype of the Bayraktar Kızılelma ("Red Apple") strike jet drone.
The video was published by the technical director of Baykar Teknoloji Selchuk Bayraktar, and the details are written by the Turkish publication Anadolu.
Tests without safety cables were successful.
Kızılelma is positioned as a deck-based supersonic drone with a turbojet engine. It can carry 1,500 kg of payload (weapons, devices, etc.). Its declared maximum speed is 900 km/h. The flight range is 930 km, and the operating altitude is 10,668 m. It can operate in the air for five hours. The first flight of Kızılelma should take place in 2023.
The developers say that Kızılelma can land and take off on ships with short runways — for example, from the deck of a light aircraft carrier. According to Baykar, the drone will successfully overcome the most difficult tasks thanks to its low radar footprint and will also be able to conduct air-to-air combat similar to manned combat aircraft with aggressive maneuvers.
- It was previously reported that Kızılelma would be equipped with Ukrainian engines: in 2021, Baykar Makina ordered AI-322F and AI-25TLT jet engines from the Ivchenko-Progress state enterprise. In addition, these drones are being built under the flagship landing ship TCG Anadolu (still under construction), which is supposed to be the worldʼs first aircraft carrier for drones.