Bayraktar Kizilelma Unmanned Fighter Executes Beyond Visual Range Simulated Air-to-Air Strike
Turkey’s Bayraktar Kizilelma unmanned fighter scored the first recorded beyond visual range air-to-air kill by a jet-powered UAV during a Black Sea test on 30 November 2025. In the test conducted with the participation of two F-16 fighter jets of the Turkish Air Force, KIZILELMA locked onto the target F-16 using the national AESA Radar MURAD, and achieved a direct hit in its simulated fire test with the national air-to-air missile GÖKDOĞAN.
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 STRIKETwo 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 manoeuvrable F-16 target with a virtual direct hit, marking a major step forward for air-to-air combat capability.
DATA LINK VERIFIEDOne 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 FLIGHTDuring 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.
Source: Baykar
