Page 13 - SAHA EXPO 2024 - DAY 2

Bayraktar Kizilelma Steals the Show

The Bayraktar Kizilelma, Turkiye’s first un- “The third prototype, which is the produc- Istanbul. These groundbreaking aviation
manned fighter aircraft, has become the tion prototype of Bayraktar Kizilelma, suc- achievements set the stage for the future
showstopper of the 2024 edition of SAHA. cessfully completed its first flight. It was a of air combat.
short test flight, and our tests will continue.
The third production prototype of the May it be beneficial and auspicious for our Bayraktar Kizilelma’s capability to operate on
Bayraktar Kizilelma with tail number TC- country and nation.” short-runway ships, such as Türkiye’s TCG
ÖZB3, Türkiye’s first indigenously developed Anadolu, provides a strategic advantage in
unmanned combat aircraft, has successfully According to a company official, the devel- overseas missions and in the defense of
completed its maiden flight recently. opment of Bayraktar Kizilelma continues at the Blue Homeland.
full speed, with significant advancements
The aircraft has an operational altitude of integrated into the production prototype. Export Champion
30,000 feet, and a combat radius of 500 nau- Structural improvements, alongside en-
tical miles. It can carry a payload of 1,500 hancements in avionics architecture, have Since its establishment, Baykar has con-
kilograms, with a maximum take off weight been implemented. ducted all of its projects using its own re-
of about 8.5 tonnes. Bayraktar Kizilelma sources. Since the start of its UAV R&D
can cruise at a speed of Mach 0.6 and can The maiden flight was conducted with an process in 2003, Baykar has generated
touch a maximum speed of Mach 0.9. The afterburner engine, which enables the air- 83 per cent of its revenues from exports.
Bayraktar Kizilelma which stands at 14.5 craft to approach the speed of sound. With In 2023, Baykar achieved US$1.8 billion in
meters long has an endurance capacity of improved aerodynamics, Kizilelma will per- exports, ranking among the top 10 compa-
over four hours. The aircraft comes in sub- form better at high speeds and maneuvers. nies with the highest export volumes across
sonic, transonic and supersonic versions. The AESA radar will ensure high situational all sectors in Türkiye. Baykar received the
awareness, allowing the aircraft to execute Export Champions Award and, according
Successfully Passed complex missions effectively. to data from the Defense Industry Agency
Ground Tests and the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM),
Flight Achieved in Record Time became the defense and aerospace export
For the flight test, the Bayraktar Kizilelma
PT-3 was transferred to the Akinci Flight The Bayraktar Kizilelma project, initiated in leader in 2021, 2022, and 2023. In recent
Training and Test Center in Çorlu, Tekirdağ, 2021 with 100 per cent equity by Baykar, years, Baykar has earned over 90 per cent
in July. Before the flight, the prototype achieved its first flight in record time. After of its revenues from exports, and in 2023,
passed critical ground tests, including the rolling off the production line on November it alone accounted for one-third of the de-
engine run-up test, automatic taxi tests, run 14, 2022, the prototype completed ground fense and aerospace sector’s total exports.
tests, and lift-off tests. tests and successfully took to the skies on As the world’s largest exporter of armed
unmanned aerial vehicles (UCAVs), 97.5 per
The maiden flight of Bayraktar Kizilelma December 14, 2022. The project continues cent of Baykar’s signed contracts to date
PT-3, was conducted under the leadership to make rapid progress. have been export-based. Export agreements
of Selçuk Bayraktar, Chairman and CTO of Throughout TEKNOFEST 2023, Bayraktar have been signed with 33 countries for the
Baykar. During the test, system identification Kizilelma made history by completing for- Bayraktar TB2 UCAV and with 10 countries
activities were also successfully carried out. mation flights with Bayraktar Akinci UCAV, for the Bayraktar AKINCI UCAV, totaling
Following the flight, Selçuk Bayraktar stated: Soloturk F-16, and Turkish Stars F-5 jets over agreements with 34 countries.

SAHA EXPO 2024 OCTOBER-23-2024 13