Bayraktar Kızılelma performed an arm flight with Bayraktar Akıncı TİHA. Baykar Chairman of the Board of Directors Selçuk Bayraktar shared those moments on his social media account.
According to the statement made by Baykar, the flight test campaign of Bayraktar Kızılelma unmanned fighter aircraft, which the company developed completely with its own resources, continues in the planned direction.
Bayraktar Kızılelma, Turkey’s first unmanned fighter aircraft, has passed another important stage within the scope of the flight test campaign. Bayraktar Kızılelma performed arm flight with Bayraktar Akıncı TİHA in the 9th and 10th flight tests conducted at Akıncı Flight Training and Test Center in Çorlu district of Tekirdağ. Within the scope of the test, there was a first when an unmanned warplane and an unmanned aerial vehicle performed arm flight. Thus, the compatibility and potential impact of high-tech unmanned platforms, developed by Baykar nationally and specifically, was demonstrated once again.
“A FIRST IN THE HISTORY OF WORLD AVIATION”
Baykar Chairman of the Board and Technology Leader Selçuk Bayraktar stated that Bayraktar Kızılelma flew autonomously with Bayraktar Akıncı in a close arm flight.
Bayraktar, in a statement on his Twitter account, also shared the images of the flight in question.
A first in world aviation history;
An Assault UAV and an Unmanned Fighter Aircraft flew autonomously in close arm flight.
Bayraktar #FORWARD ✈️?????????
Bayraktar #RED APPLE ✈️?????????4K Youtube link:https://t.co/158MbTyLnC
— Selcuk Bayraktar (@Selcuk) April 24, 2023
Noting that the flight was a first in the history of world aviation, Bayraktar made the following statements in his post:
“A first in the history of world aviation; an attack drone and an unmanned warplane flew autonomously in close arm flight.”
MASS PRODUCTION STARTS IN 2024
The development and production activities of Bayraktar Kızılelma, whose two prototypes have been successfully produced so far, and which will meet the public at Atatürk Airport on April 27-May 1 within the scope of TEKNOFEST 2023, continue. It is planned to start mass production of the national unmanned warplane in 2024.
FIRST FLIGHT FROM TCG ANATOLIA IN 2025
Bayraktar Kızılelma and Bayraktar TB3 SİHA took their place on the flight deck of the TCG Anadolu, which will be the world’s first SİHA ship, at the inventory acceptance ceremony held on April 10. Bayraktar Kızılelma Unmanned Fighter Aircraft, the second prototype of which was exhibited at the ceremony, is expected to start flight tests from TCG Anadolu ship in 2025.
TCG Anadolu Ship, Bayraktar Kızılelma and Bayraktar TB3 SİHA were opened to the visit of citizens at Istanbul Sarayburnu Port on 17 April. In this context, tens of thousands of people visited the TCG Anadolu ship on the flight deck of Bayraktar Kızılelma and Bayraktar TB3 SİHA.
FLYING IN RECORD TIME
Bayraktar Red Apple Project, which Baykar set out with 100 percent equity capital, started in 2021. Bayraktar Kızılelma, with the tail number of TC-ÖZB, which came off the production line on November 14, 2022, was transferred to AKINCI Flight Training and Test Center in Çorlu. After successfully completing the ground tests here, it made its first flight on 14 December 2022.
Bayraktar Kızılelma, which met with the sky in a record time like a year, made a significant progress by performing 8 flights in total with 4 flights last week, during the days of 18-20 April, and successfully completed the system identification and maneuvering tests for the first time at high speeds with the landing gear closed.
Bayraktar Kızılelma reached a speed of 630 km/h in these tests.
AIR-AIR COMBAT WILL BE CONDUCTED WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Bayraktar Kızılelma unmanned fighter aircraft, which will perform air-air combat with artificial intelligence along with air-ground missions, will be a power multiplier for Turkey with its low visibility thanks to its low radar cross section.
At the same time, Bayraktar Kızılelma will revolutionize the battlefield with its take-off and landing capability from ships with short runways.
Bayraktar Kızılelma, which has a take-off weight of 8.5 tons and a payload capacity of 1500 kilograms, will also have high situational awareness with the national AESA radar. Bayraktar Kızılelma, which will use all nationally developed ammunition, will be able to operate with smart fleet autonomy.
BAYKAR STARTED 2023 WITH EXPORTS
Baykar, as a result of a competitive process, left its American, European and Chinese competitors behind and started 2023 with the export contract for Bayraktar TB2 of 370 million dollars, with the agreement signed with the Kuwait Ministry of Defense.
Baykar, which carries out all its projects with its own resources, has obtained 75 percent of all its revenues from exports since the beginning of the UAV R&D process in 2003. In 2021, it became the export leader of the defense and aerospace industry, according to the data of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM). Baykar, whose export rate was 99.3 percent in the contracts signed in 2022, made exports of 1.18 billion dollars.
Baykar, which is the biggest exporter of the defense and aerospace industry, has a turnover of 1.4 billion dollars in 2022. Export agreements have been signed with 28 countries for Bayraktar TB2 SİHA and with 6 countries for Bayraktar Akıncı TİHA. (AA)