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Türkiye’s first unmanned fighter jet, Bayraktar Kizilelma, made aviation history by becoming the world’s first UAV to fire a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile at a jet-powered target aircraft, defense company Baykar said Sunday.
The test, conducted off the coast of Sinop over the Black Sea, saw Kizilelma destroy a high-speed target jet with a domestically developed Gokdogan missile, launched under its wing after detecting and tracking the target with Aselsan’s Murad Aesa radar.
The strike marks the first time in Turkish aviation history that a national aircraft used a domestically produced air-to-air missile, guided by a national radar, to engage and destroy an aerial target.
The success established Kizilelma as the world’s first uncrewed platform with verified air-to-air combat capability, according to Baykar.
“This pride belongs to our nation,” said Haluk Bayraktar, Baykar’s CEO, describing the test as a turning point. “With a national aircraft, national radar, and national missile, we completed every link in the air-to-air engagement chain using fully domestic capabilities.”
The test included five F-16 fighter jets from Merzifon Air Base, which flew in formation with Kizilelma to demonstrate future manned-unmanned teaming concepts. A Bayraktar Akinci UAV also participated, capturing the event from the air.
Baykar’s chair and chief technology officer, Selcuk Bayraktar, said Kizilelma had “scored another first in aviation history” with the beyond-visual-range missile strike.
Defense experts and officials said the milestone is more than a technological achievement; it signals Türkiye’s growing ambition in autonomous air combat and its strategic implications for regional power dynamics.
“The successful engagement demonstrates a wide-ranging engineering chain, from sensor fusion and radar to flight control and missile systems, working in harmony on a single national platform,” said Haluk Gorgun, head of the Defense Industries Secretariat.
He said the test reflects the maturity of Türkiye’s domestic defense ecosystem and its long-term aerospace vision.
Equipped with a low radar cross-section and advanced sensors, Kizilelma can detect enemy aircraft from long distances without being seen.
The platform integrates Murad Aesa radar and the Toygun electro-optical targeting system and can deploy a wide array of indigenous munitions. In previous tests, it achieved direct hits using Tolun and Teber-82 precision bombs.
The latest test validated its capability for both air-to-ground and air-to-air missions.
Baykar has funded all of its UAV projects since 2003. It reported $1.8 billion in export revenue in both 2023 and 2024, with 90% of total income from exports.
The company has signed export deals for its Bayraktar TB2 UAV with 36 countries and for the Bayraktar Akinci with 16 countries.
According to official data, Baykar has been Türkiye’s top defense and aerospace exporter for four consecutive years.
Turkish defense giant Aselsan, which developed the radar and other mission-critical systems such as radar seekers, IFF systems, and communications, said the test underscores the power of integrated national solutions.
Roketsan, which developed the Gokdogan missile, said the milestone could “reshape the rules of aerial combat.”
Mehmet Fatih Kacir, Türkiye’s industry and technology minister, called the achievement a global first, adding that “Türkiye’s national technology capacity has reached a level capable of rewriting the rules of air superiority.”
The successful air-to-air missile engagement drew praise from domestic and international defense observers, who highlighted the strategic implications of a fully national air combat chain—from radar to missile—on an uncrewed fighter jet.
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