Bayraktar KIZILELMA—developed nationally and indigenously by Baykar entirely with its own resources—has successfully cleared yet another critical hurdle that will prove its effectiveness on the battlefield. Taking off from the AKINCI Flight Training and Test Center in Çorlu, Tekirdağ, the national unmanned fighter aircraft carried out formation flying with the F-16s and validated the integration of the national radar and munitions during its 1-hour-45-minute flight at an average altitude of 15,000 feet. With this flight, Bayraktar KIZILELMA’s total test flight time has surpassed 55 hours.

LOCK AT 30 MILES, DIRECT HIT IN VIRTUAL STRIKE!

Two F-16 fighter jets belonging to the Turkish Air Force participated in the “Bayraktar KIZILELMA – GÖKDOĞAN Armed Flight and MURAD AESA Radar Performance Test.” One of the F-16s performed close formation flying with Bayraktar KIZILELMA, demonstrating the platform’s compatibility with manned fighter aircraft, while the other F-16 acted as the “target aircraft” within the test scenario.  During the test, Bayraktar KIZILELMA detected the target F-16 at a distance of 30 miles using the MURAD AESA Radar developed by ASELSAN and locked onto the target. It then executed a simulated electronic firing using the GÖKDOĞAN Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile produced by TÜBİTAK SAGE and carried under its wing. In the simulation, Bayraktar KIZILELMA successfully neutralized the highly maneuverable F-16 target with a virtual direct hit, marking a major step forward for air-to-air combat capability.

DATA LINK VERIFIED

One of the most critical phases of the test involved evaluating the communication infrastructure between the aircraft, radar, and missile. After locking onto the target F-16, Bayraktar KIZILELMA transmitted real-time target, position, and velocity data obtained from the MURAD AESA Radar seamlessly to the GÖKDOĞAN missile carried under its wing. The successful validation of this data link between Bayraktar KIZILELMA and the munition represents a significant milestone in the unmanned fighter aircraft’s capability to neutralize beyond-visual-range (BVR) targets.

THREE MAJOR TESTS IN A SINGLE FLIGHT

During this historic flight over the skies of Tekirdağ, three distinct and challenging test scenarios were executed simultaneously with success. The F-16 formation flight—which demonstrated the capability for joint operations with manned fighter aircraft—offered insights into future air-combat concepts. The aerodynamic and avionic compatibility of the platform was verified through the GÖKDOĞAN Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile carried under the wing. In the same flight, the detection, tracking, lock-on, and data-transfer capabilities of the national MURAD AESA Radar—which was activated for the test—were also proven under demanding conditions.