Turkey's Kizilelma Makes History: First Unmanned Fighter Jet to Successfully Execute Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile Strike

Turkey tested the unmanned fighter jet Kizilelma to accurately and successfully target an aircraft using an air-to-air missile through radar guidance, scripting global combat aviation history.

In the test conducted off the coast of Sinop firing range, Kizilelma destroyed a jet-powered aerial target identified by Aselsan's Murad Aesa radar with a Beyond Visual Range air-to-air Gokdogan missile, marking a breakthrough in unmanned combat capabilities.

Indigenously developed by Baykar, Kizilelma flew with five F-15 fighter jets. The high-speed jet-powered target was detected and tracked by the Murad Aesa radar located on the Kizilelma. It then fired the Gokdogan missile located under its wing. The launched missile directly hit the target drone, CNN reported.

Turkey's 'WORLD FIRST' drone strike with beyond-visual-range missile

Bayraktar's Kizilelma flanked by jets as warhead roars away

Hitting 'jet-powered aerial target' in successful test pic.twitter.com/hCVM20t8yx

With a much lower radar signature than current fighter jets, the Kizilelma can detect enemy aircraft from a long distance, bringing the concept of "sees without being seen, strikes without being shot at" to air combat.

The Kizilelma can now engage targets in both air-to-ground and air-to-air missions.

A global leader in drone exports, Baykar generated $1.8 billion in export revenue in 2023 and 2024 each, with 90 per cent of its total income from exports. According to official data, the company has been the top defense and aerospace exporter in Turkey for the last four years.