Kizilelma UAV Becomes First to Successfully Use Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile

Baykar’s Turkish jet-powered UAV Kizilelma has become the first in the world to destroy an air target using a medium-range air-to-air missile, employing the Turkish Gökdoğan missile.

Baykar announced the achievement on X.

The Bayraktar Kizilelma combat UAV independently detected and engaged the air target using the ASELSAN MURAD onboard radar with an active electronically scanned array (AESA).

According to SavunmaSanayiST, under the exercise scenario, a high-speed jet drone target was detected and tracked by the MURAD AESA radar on the Kizilelma. After identifying the target, the UAV launched a Gökdoğan missile, which destroyed the drone with a direct hit.

During the tests, five F-16 fighter jets from Merzifon base accompanied the UAV to the Sinop region, along with a Bayraktar Akıncı strike UAV that recorded the test.

While drones have previously destroyed air targets — for example, a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper used an AIM-9 missile in 2017 — this is the first known instance of a fully unmanned jet engaging an air target with its own radar and a medium-range missile.

The closest competitor is the MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone, jointly developed by the U.S. and Australia, which is scheduled to launch an AIM-120 AMRAAM for the first time in December 2025. Other drones in this class have not yet reached this capability.

Kizilelma

Baykar positions Kizilelma as an independent air combat platform capable of operating without manned aircraft. The test demonstrated a full attack cycle, including carrier, radar, missile, mission computer, and data link, using Turkey’s own technologies.

The drone has a maximum altitude of 13,700 meters, an operational ceiling of 7,600 meters, and can remain airborne for more than three hours. Multiple versions are planned, including subsonic, transonic, and supersonic. The subsonic version has a cruising speed of Mach 0.6 and a maximum speed of Mach 0.9. The UAV has a 10-meter wingspan, a length of 14.5 meters, and a height of 3.5 meters.

Ukrainian AI-25TLT and AI-322F engines power the drone. The AI-322F, equipped with an afterburner, began testing on Kizilelma in early October 2025.

In early October 2025, the Kizilelma also conducted its first air-to-ground weapons tests, using aerial bombs equipped with TEBER-82 guidance kits—similar to the U.S. JDAM—as well as TOLUN guided bombs.

In early November, the MURAD 100-A radar from ASELSAN was tested for the first time on the Kizilelma.

Turkey plans to produce 12 Kizilelma UAVs per year.