The production prototype of the Bayraktar KIZILELMA, Turkey’s first unmanned combat aircraft, has reached a significant milestone by successfully completing its maiden flight. This new aircraft, bearing the tail number TC-ÖZB3, conducted this historic flight on September 25, 2024, from the AKINCI Flight Training and Test Center in Çorlu, in the Tekirdağ province.
The Bayraktar KIZILELMA is an unmanned combat drone developed in Turkey, designed for air combat missions with high maneuverability and a low radar signature (RCS). Powered by a turbofan engine, it can reach a cruising speed of 0.6 Mach and a maximum speed of 0.9 Mach, with a payload capacity of 1.5 tons and an endurance of over 4 hours. It can operate at an altitude of 25,000 feet, with a service ceiling of 45,000 feet. Equipped with an AESA radar and an electro-optical targeting system, the KIZILELMA is capable of autonomous missions, including takeoffs and landings on short-runway aircraft carriers. It can carry laser-guided munitions, missiles, and long-range cruise missiles. It comes in subsonic, transonic, and supersonic versions.