Turkish defense contractor Baykar Technologies has launched serial production of the “Kızılelma” unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV).
The Kızılelma, which completed its maiden flight in December 2022, is scheduled to enter into service with the Turkish Armed Forces by 2026.
A sixth prototype of the combat drone is on the production line, according to Selçuk Bayraktar, the company’s chairman and Chief Technology Officer.
In January, the UCAV prototype underwent another flight test, which involved upgrades to its performance and avionics architecture.
Bayraktar Kızılelma Drone
The Kızılelma is Turkey’s first domestically made multi-purpose UCAV, marking a milestone in the country’s local defense industry.
Bayraktar noted that this development makes Turkey the first country in the world to mass-produce unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and occupy 65 percent of the global UAV market as of 2025, Ukrinform reported.
Built for air-to-ground and air-to-air missions, the Kızılelma has a combat radius of 500 nautical miles (926 kilometers/575 miles), a maximum altitude of 25,000 feet (7,620 meters), and endurance of over three hours.
Powered by a modified Ukrainian-designed AI-322F turbojet engine, the Turkish drone has a cruising speed of Mach 0.6 and a maximum speed of Mach 0.9.
With a 1,500-kilogram (3,306 pounds) payload capacity, the unmanned aircraft can carry laser-guided munitions and long-range cruise missiles.
It can simultaneously engage multiple threats while maintaining stealth, thanks to its low-detection radar signature and an active electronically scanned array radar system.
The Kızılelma UCAV is designed to take off and land on short runways, including on aircraft carriers like the Turkish Navy’s TCG Anadolu amphibious assault ship.
