Turkish company Baykar reported a historical effort by an unmanned aircraft aircraft Kızılelma armed with an air-to-air rocket Gökdoğan. A flight in formation with 2 F-16 fighters and an attack on a manned ship proved that Kızılelma could theoretically carry out air missions with tasks previously foreseen only for manned aviation.
Unmanned Kızılelma fighter "shot down" F-16.
The historical test was carried out at Akinci Center in Çorl (north-east Turkey), from which the unmanned Kızılelma took off with 2 F-16 fighters of Turkish air force. Over a 100-minute flight at an average ceiling of 4500 m confirmed the integration of AESA Murad radar, data link and unmanned weapons system. After tracking the mark (one of the F-16s) at a distance of about 48 km, BSP transmitted data (position, speed, course) to the rocket and the simulated shot strategy indicated a direct hit. Under test conditions, this was considered a success.
The F-16 was "hitted" with the Gökdoğan rocket (turn. migratory falcon) of national production, which is intended to replace the American AIM-120 AMRAAM in the Turkish air force. According to Baykar, after a test with F-16 Kızılelma entered the phase of integration tests combining avionics, radar, weapons and communications, beginning a fresh chapter in the concept of manned and unmanned cooperation.
If further tests (e.g. with a real rocket launch) are besides successful, Kızılelma can be a crucial origin in changing the approach to air force design, as the United States (CCA Programme), Australia (MQ-28 Ghost Bat), South Korea (LOWUS – Low Observable Unmanned Wingman System), India (CATS – Combat Air Teaming System) and China (Dark Sword).
Kızılelma (turn red apple) is 14.5 m long and 3.5 m high, and the wingspan is 10 m. Powered by a turbo-ventilator engine, the unmanned vehicle can scope a velocity of 0.9 Mach (pass velocity of 0.6 Mach). The operating ceiling for this vessel is about 7600 m (maximum: over 13 700 m) with a maximum take-off mass (MTOW) of 8500 kg. Operating time is over 3 hours.
Kızılelma took its first flight in December 2022 and after the last test has more than 55 hours of raid. Baykar announces that an unmanned fighter will be able to take off and land on short runway carriers and carry out missions with ammunition carried inside the hull.
At the end of last year, the maker announced that Kızılelma's serial production had begun. In 2026 Baykar intends to produce at least 10 unmanned fighters, consisting of almost exclusively national components (the engine is Ukrainian production).