Turkish Bayraktar becomes world's first drone to shoot down aircraft with air-to-air missiles
Photo: Bayraktar Kızılelma UAV (screenshot)
Turkish defence company Baykar, the manufacturer of Bayraktar drones, has carried out a "historic test" of the Bayraktar Kızılelma UAV, which successfully struck an F-16 fighter jet with a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, according to the company’s press service.
Bayraktar Kızılelma is a jet-powered, supersonic, low-observable carrier-capable drone with a maximum take-off weight above 5.5 tonnes, more than 1,500 kg of which is payload.
According to the test scenario, one F-16 was flying in formation with the UAV, while another acted as the target. Kızılelma detected the target at a distance of 30 miles using its radar, locked on, and performed an electronic missile launch. In the simulation, the drone successfully neutralised the highly manoeuvrable F-16 with a direct hit.
During the trial, which involved two Turkish F-16 fighter jets, the company tested the UAV’s key capabilities:
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integration with the Turkish Gökdogan beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM);
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ability to operate with the Turkish AESA MURAD radar to detect, track, and lock targets under complex conditions.
The chair of the board and chief technology officer of Baykar, Selçuk Bayraktar, called the test "historic", saying that Turkey is the first country in the world to achieve such a result.
"Today we opened the door to a new era in aviation history. For the first time, a drone successfully launched a radar-guided air-to-air missile and hit the target with precision," Bayraktar said.
Turkey unveiled a modernised Bayraktar TB2 equipped with artificial intelligence. The upgraded drone can identify targets, make real-time decisions and operate autonomously.
The Bayraktar Kızılelma unmanned fighter jet equipped with a Ukrainian engine completed a mid-altitude identification system test.
