Türkiye’s first unmanned combat aircraft, Bayraktar KIZILELMA, has passed another critical milestone in its national munition integration process. Developed by Baykar, the platform successfully hit its target during a firing test with ROKETSAN’s JET-230 supersonic missile, designed for air-to-ground missions. With this test, KIZILELMA demonstrated its long-range precision strike capability using an air-to-ground supersonic munition.

The test activity was carried out as part of work conducted at the 5th Main Jet Base Command in Merzifon. KIZILELMA’s serial production model with tail number S2 took off from the AKINCI Flight Training and Test Center in Çorlu, Tekirdağ, on July 8 and transferred to Merzifon. Following preparations there, the platform took off on July 11 with two JET-230 missiles under its wings and headed toward the target at sea. During the firing, the JET-230 missile was launched from a range of over 120 kilometers and successfully destroyed the target.

This achievement shows that KIZILELMA is rapidly advancing not merely as an unmanned aerial vehicle, but as an unmanned combat aircraft capable of carrying out strategic missions with different types of munitions. The integration of a supersonic missile enables the platform to engage high-value land and naval targets from longer distances. This capability reduces the risks that manned fighter aircraft may face while paving the way for air power to be used more flexibly and deterrently through unmanned platforms.

Significant progress has recently been made in KIZILELMA’s munition integration schedule. The platform had previously completed successful firing tests with the GÖKDOĞAN air-to-air missile, TOLUN, TEBER-82 Winged Guidance Kit and LGK-82 munitions. The latest test with JET-230 further strengthened KIZILELMA’s potential to operate with different munition options in both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. The integration of national munitions into the platform stands out as a critical factor reducing Türkiye’s foreign dependency in the unmanned combat aircraft ecosystem.

Bayraktar KIZILELMA had also previously attracted attention with tests such as autonomous close-formation flight and beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile firing. The ability of multiple unmanned combat aircraft to act in coordination through intelligent fleet autonomy algorithms provides an important foundation for manned-unmanned teaming and autonomous mission execution in future air combat. Successful tests carried out with ASELSAN’s MURAD AESA radar and TÜBİTAK SAGE’s GÖKDOĞAN missile are also among the important steps supporting the platform’s air combat capability.

As a result, Bayraktar KIZILELMA’s successful strike with the JET-230 supersonic missile represents another field-proven achievement reflecting the Turkish defense industry’s expertise in unmanned combat aircraft, national munitions, mission computers, radar and autonomy. This test accelerates KIZILELMA’s transformation into a multi-role unmanned combat aircraft capable of operating in different mission profiles, while also strengthening Türkiye’s claim in the future of air warfare.