Photo: Anadolu/Twitter
Although for years one of the biggest defense contractors in Europe, Turkish company Baykar was virtually unknown to the average Joes of the world until Russia decided to invade Ukraine. As soon as that happened, its drones, called Bayraktar TB2, started wreaking havoc among Russian ranks, and rose to star status.
Although the most famous of Baykar’s products, the TB2 is no longer the talk of the day. That’s because on Tuesday, August 30, Turkey’s largest aviation, space and tech event, Teknofest Black Sea, kicked off at the Carsamba Airport in the Samsun region. And it is there where Baykar is showing the big, mean, turbojet-powered Bayraktar Kizilelma.
Officially part of a program called the National Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle System (MIUS), the Kizilelma is described as the next step in drone combat. It will use AI-power to make decisions (or help its operators do that), will be capable of performing “aggressive maneuvers”, whatever that means, and thanks to the fact it needs a minimum distance to take off, could be easily launched from the decks of seaborn ships.
The drone is still a work-in-progress, and its first flight is not scheduled until at least 2023. Even so, we already know some of the numbers that will make up the Red Apple, as its name translates into English.
The thing will be capable of carrying up to 1,500 kg (3,300 pounds) of weapons and gear, which it will be able to transport to distances of up to 930 km (578 miles). It can stay in the air for up to five hours, and can fly an altitude of over 10,000 meters (32,800 feet).
“The structural integration of the Kizilelma has been completed to a large extent, the mechanical and avionics integration process is continuing. We are planning its maiden flight in the first months of 2023,” said in a statement to Anadolu Agency Baykar pilot instructor Elif Ergin.
And now that you've seen it on the ground in the gallery above, just imagine this thing airborne over the battlefield...
Officially part of a program called the National Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle System (MIUS), the Kizilelma is described as the next step in drone combat. It will use AI-power to make decisions (or help its operators do that), will be capable of performing “aggressive maneuvers”, whatever that means, and thanks to the fact it needs a minimum distance to take off, could be easily launched from the decks of seaborn ships.
The drone is still a work-in-progress, and its first flight is not scheduled until at least 2023. Even so, we already know some of the numbers that will make up the Red Apple, as its name translates into English.
The thing will be capable of carrying up to 1,500 kg (3,300 pounds) of weapons and gear, which it will be able to transport to distances of up to 930 km (578 miles). It can stay in the air for up to five hours, and can fly an altitude of over 10,000 meters (32,800 feet).
“The structural integration of the Kizilelma has been completed to a large extent, the mechanical and avionics integration process is continuing. We are planning its maiden flight in the first months of 2023,” said in a statement to Anadolu Agency Baykar pilot instructor Elif Ergin.
And now that you've seen it on the ground in the gallery above, just imagine this thing airborne over the battlefield...
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