According to its press release, Turkish defense company Baykar, known for the Bayraktar UAV series, has announced historic tests of its Kizilelma unmanned fighter jet, involving two F-16 fighter jets.
During these exercises, the Kizilelma UAV locked onto an F-16 aircraft using its Murad AESA radar and, in a simulation test, successfully "destroyed" the aircraft with a Turkish Gökdoğan air-to-air missile.
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It is the first time Kizilelma has participated in such tests. Baykar notes that this was a historic test for their development. Crucially, the tests confirmed that the data link between the UAV and the missile works effectively. The target was "hit" at a distance of about 48 km (30 miles).
Moreover, while one F-16 played the role of a "target," the other fighter jet also had its own tasks. It flew alongside Kizilelma to demonstrate the compatibility of unmanned and manned platforms. So, Kizilelma can be characterized as a support drone.
It is noted that the flight, during which the radar and ammunition were tested on Kizilelma, lasted 105 minutes (the average altitude was about 4,570 m). During this series of tests, the UAV accumulated over 55 hours of flight time.
Earlier, Defense Express reported that the Kizilelma UAV, equipped with a Ukrainian engine, had entered weapons testing.
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