One of the most ambitious projects of the Turkish defense industry in the sky. Bayraktar KIZILELMA Unmanned Combat Aircraft, Having completed the most critical integrations that will make it a true "hunter," it carried out a historic test flight. In the images released by Baykar, the integrations that have been added to the nose of the KIZILELMA are visible. ASELSAN-produced MURAD AESA Radar and placed in its body TOYGUN 100 Electro-Optical Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Targeting System It was observed that the first performance test flight was successfully carried out. This development follows the recent successful testing of the national air-to-air missiles. Gokdogan and Bozdogan When combined with this, it also marks the announcement that KIZILELMA is no longer just a ground target strike platform, but has transformed into a fully-fledged air-to-air combat system capable of detecting and destroying enemy aircraft and UAVs.
Historic Integration Completed: KIZILELMA Flew with ASELSAN MURAD AESA Radar!
Technologies developed for Türkiye's 5th generation fighter jet, TUSAŞ KAAN, are now giving life to unmanned platforms. The latest test flight of KIZILELMA marked a new chapter in the project with the inclusion of the ASELSAN MURAD AESA Radar, one of the latest marvels of Turkish engineering, inside the radome attached to the aircraft's nose. This integration gives KIZILELMA situational awareness similar to that of manned fighter jets, transforming it into an "intelligent" and "seeing" guardian of the skies.
What is the ASELSAN MURAD AESA Radar and Why is it a Game Changer?
MURAD, the new "eye" of KIZILELMA, is no ordinary radar. AESA (Active Electronic Scanning Array) This technology forms the basis of modern air warfare.
- What is AESA Technology?: Unlike older generation mechanical radars, AESA radars consist of thousands of small, independent transmit/receive modules. This allows them to instantly send beams of light in many different directions electronically, without physically moving the radar.
- What are the advantages of MURAD?:
- Multitasking Capability: It can simultaneously search for both air and ground targets, track dozens of targets, and conduct electronic warfare (jamming).
- High Detection Range: It has the potential to detect targets with low radar signatures (such as stealth aircraft) from very long distances.
- Electronic Warfare Resistance: It is much more difficult for the enemy to jam it.
- Low Detectability (LPI): He also makes it harder for the enemy to locate him by emitting radio signals that are more difficult to detect.
Thanks to this radar, KIZILELMA can detect a threat hundreds of kilometers away and instantly share its information with other platforms like TUSAŞ KAAN or with the ground control station.
Silent and Deep Monitoring: Passive Detection Capability with ASELSAN TOYGUN 100
Another critical system integrated into KIZILELMA is... ASELSAN TOYGUN 100 Electro-Optical (EO/IR) System. This system serves as KIZILELMA's "passive eye".
- What is TOYGUN 100?: Composed of high-resolution daytime and thermal cameras, it can detect targets completely without emitting radar signals. “detecting and diagnosing "silently" It is a useful sensor system.
- Why is it important?: Radar, being an active system, emits signals and can be detected by the enemy. However, TOYGUN 100 and KIZILELMA can stealthily approach an enemy aircraft without ever activating their radar, simply by tracking the target's heat or image, and target it without being detected until the last moment. This provides a vital advantage of surprise in air combat.
Eyes Saw, Missiles Will Strike: Gökdoğan and Bozdoğan are Complete Air Combatants
Even if you have the best eyesight, you can't be a hunter without a weapon. KIZILELMA's new sensor capabilities gain meaning when combined with the national air-to-air missiles developed by TÜBİTAK-SAGE, which recently completed their firing tests with great success.
- Bozdoğan Missile: It is a short-range, heat-seeking (IR) missile. KIZILELMA can lock onto a target detected by TOYGUN 100 and fire the Bozdoğan missile.
- Gokdogan Missile: It is a beyond-visual-range (BVR), active radar-guided missile. KIZILELMA, using the MURAD AESA Radar, can detect a target hundreds of kilometers away and launch the Gökdoğan missile, destroying the enemy before they even understand what's happening.
The integration of these three national systems (MURAD Radar, TOYGUN Sensor, Gökdoğan/Bozdoğan Missiles) on the KIZILELMA platform creates a complete "kill chain".
The Rules Are Changing in Air Combat: KIZILELMA Is Now a Threat Hunter
These integrations signal that KIZILELMA is now fully ready for air-to-air combat. Capable of being deployed on the most dangerous missions without pilot risk, KIZILELMA can serve as a "loyal wingman" for TUSAŞ KAAN, infiltrating enemy airspace to conduct preemptive strikes, or patrolling to protect our airspace. This integrated success of Turkish engineering demonstrates to the world that not only an unmanned aircraft, but also the future of air warfare concepts are being written by Turkey.
