The Bayraktar KIZILELMA unmanned combat aerial vehicle, developed by Baykar, reached a historical milestone when, for the first time in the world, two unmanned fighter aircraft performed a fully autonomous and coordinated flight without any human intervention.
This success reinforces Türkiye’s progress in the development of next-generation air combat systems.
Bayraktar KIZILELMA, the country’s first unmanned combat aircraft developed entirely with domestic resources, continues to achieve pioneering successes in world aviation history. About a month ago, it made history as the world’s first unmanned fighter to destroy an aerial target by firing a beyond-visual (BVR) air-to-air missile guided by its built-in AESA radar.
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Coordinated flight without human intervention
In the latest test, KIZILELMA PT3 and PT5 prototypes took off consecutively and performed a close-arm flight under the control of advanced fleet autonomy algorithms developed by Baykar. During the mission, aircraft maintained formation and flight integrity by autonomously adjusting their relative positions; It demonstrated the coordination ability between unmanned platforms in practice.
According to the company’s statement, it is a first in the history of military aviation for two unmanned combat aircraft to perform a fully coordinated flight as an air formation without the direct supervision of human pilots.
Combat Air Patrol (CAP) also confirmed
In addition to the formation flight, the trial included the successful execution of the Combat Air Patrol (CAP) mission, a fundamental element of modern air combat. At this stage, the prototypes followed a predetermined route and carried out the air defense mission with only the support of fleet autonomy software.
The demonstration confirmed that missions traditionally attributed to manned fighters, such as continuous air surveillance, protection of sensitive areas and response to threats, can be delegated to fleets of autonomously operating unmanned combat aircraft.
The road to the air combat of the future
During the testing process, the joint operation, tactical coordination and autonomous decision-making capabilities of the aircraft were closely monitored. According to Baykar, KIZILELMA’s smart fleet autonomy infrastructure paves the way for complex air operations in which multiple unmanned platforms operate in an integrated manner.
This progress is seen as a turning point for military aviation and indicates that, beyond manned-unmanned cooperation, fully autonomous fighter fleets may play central roles in the air battlefield in the future.
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Source and images: X @SavunmaSanayiST. This content was created with the support of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.
