Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) specialist Bayraktar achieved a significant first on 29 November in the Sinop Firing Area off Türkiye’s Black Sea coast when a Bayraktar Kizilelma unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) successfully destroyed a jet-powered aerial target using a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM).
The Kizilelma UCAV took off for its firing test, in formation with five Turkish F-16 fighters, from the 5th Main Jet Base Command in Merzifon. It then used its Aselsan Murad active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar to provide a firing solution and a wing-mounted Tubitak Sage Gökdoğan BVRAAM to destroy the target.
Bayraktar asserted that its Kizilelma UCAV “has become the first and only platform in the world to demonstrate air-to-air combat capability through its latest firing test, opening a new chapter in aviation history”.
That is not strictly true, as in November 2017 the US Air Force used an MQ-9 Reaper UAV to shoot down a target drone using a heat-seeking missile (probably an AIM-9 Sidewinder) during a test out of Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. However, Bayraktar can most likely claim a first successful air-to-air engagement using a BVRAAM.
The 14.5 m-long Kizilelma UCAV has a wingspan of 10 m and features a low radar cross-section. It is expected to operate in future from the Turkish Navy’s flagship, the amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu, as well as the Mugem aircraft carrier currently under construction.
The turbofan-powered UCAV has a maximum take-off weight of 8.5 tonnes and features a 1.5-tonne payload capacity, with a wide range of munition options. With a maximum speed of Mach 0.9, the Kizilelma has an endurance of more than three hours.
In previous tests the Kizilelma has achieved direct hits on ground targets using Tolun INS/GPS-guided glide munitions and bombs featuring the Teber-82 guidance kit.
