Bayraktar KIZILELMA, developed entirely with Baykar’s own resources and indigenously developed, has successfully completed another critical milestone that will prove its effectiveness on the battlefield. Taking off from the AKINCI Flight Training and Test Center in Çorlu, Tekirdağ, the nationally produced unmanned combat aircraft performed a one-hour, 45-minute flight at an average altitude of 15,000 feet, performing a formation flight with F-16s and verifying the integration of the national radar and munitions. This flight brings Bayraktar KIZILELMA’s total flight time during the tests to over 55 hours.

LOCK AT 30 MILES, ACCURATE ACCURACY IN VIRTUAL HITS!

Two Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jets participated in the Bayraktar KIZILELMA – GÖKDOĞAN Munition Attached Flight and Murad AESA Radar Performance Test. One of the F-16s conducted a close-range flight with the Bayraktar KIZILELMA, demonstrating the platform’s compatibility with manned fighter aircraft, while the other F-16 served as the target aircraft for the scenario.

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As part of the test, the Bayraktar KIZILELMA detected the F-16 at a range of 30 miles using the ASELSAN-developed MURAD AESA Radar and locked onto the target with its radar. It then conducted a simulated electronic launch using the GÖKDOĞAN Beyond Visual Air-to-Air Missile, manufactured by TÜBİTAK SAGE, carried under its wing. In the simulation, the Bayraktar KIZILELMA neutralized the highly maneuverable F-16 target with a pinpoint accuracy in a virtual environment, marking a significant step toward air-to-air combat.

One of the most critical phases of the test was testing the communication infrastructure between the aircraft, radar, and missile. After locking onto the target F-16, the Bayraktar KIZILELMA seamlessly transmitted instant target, location, and speed information received from the MURAD AESA radar to the GÖKDOĞAN missile carried on its wing. The successful validation of this data link between the Bayraktar KIZILELMA and the munition marked a significant milestone in the unmanned combat aircraft’s ability to neutralize beyond-visual-visual (BVR) targets.

Three different and challenging test scenarios were successfully executed simultaneously during this historic flight over Tekirdağ. The F-16 formation flight, which demonstrated joint operational capabilities with manned combat aircraft, shed light on future air combat concepts. The aerodynamic and avionic compatibility of the platform with the GÖKDOĞAN Beyond-Visual-Visual-Air-Missile Missile carried under the wing was verified. The detection, tracking, locking, and data transmission capabilities of the national MURAD AESA radar, which was also activated during the same flight, were also proven under challenging conditions.

Baykar, which has carried out all its projects with its own resources since the beginning of its UAV R&D process in 2003, has generated 83% of its revenue from exports. With $1.8 billion in exports in 2023, Baykar ranked among the top 10 companies in Turkey with the highest exports across all sectors. As the largest company in the global unmanned aerial vehicle export market, Baykar continued its global success in 2024, generating 90% of its revenue from exports, totaling $1.8 billion in exports.

Baykar was among the top 10 exporters across all sectors in Turkey in 2023 and 2024, receiving the Export Champions Award. According to data from the Presidency of Defense Industries and the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), Baykar became the export leader of the defense and aerospace sector in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Baykar, which single-handedly accounted for one-third of the sector’s exports in 2023, also accounted for one-quarter of the defense and aerospace sector’s total exports in 2024, positioning Turkey as the leader in the global armed UAV export market. As the world’s largest unmanned aerial vehicle company, Baykar has signed export agreements with 36 countries for the Bayraktar TB2 armed UAV and 16 countries for the Bayraktar AKINCI UAV, bringing the total to 37 countries.