Bayraktar Kızılelma

Bayraktar Kızılelma
Baykar Kızılelma at Teknofest 2023
General information
Type
National originTurkey
ManufacturerBaykar
StatusThe first delivery to the Turkish Armed Forces is set for the first quarter of 2026
Primary userTurkish Armed Forces
Prototypes5 prototypes
Number built2 serial production
History
Introduction date2025
First flight14 December 2022

The Bayraktar Kızılelma (English: Red Apple) is a single-engine, stealth, carrier-capable, jet-powered, artificial intelligence capable unmanned multirole fighter, currently in development by Turkish defense company Baykar. The aircraft is being developed as part of Project MIUS (Turkish: Muharip İnsansız Uçak Sistemi; English: Combatant Unmanned Aircraft System). The initial Bayraktar Kızılelma (Kızılelma-A) is subsonic. Planned variants (Kızılelma-B and Kızılelma-C) are intended to be supersonic, with the latter having a twin-engined configuration. It is one of the two Turkish jet-powered stealth UCAVs, along with the TAI Anka-3. It is the world's first AESA radar equipped , BVR missile equipped, artificial intelligence (AI) based autonomous flight capable unmanned multirole fighter. The aircraft incorporates autonomous flight, take off, landing and taxi capability. It is equipped with an artificial intelligence (AI) enabled mission computer. Its structure is optimized for both short-runway and aircraft carrier operations. The aircraft is equipped with Aselsan made MURAD AESA Radar, KARAT Infrared search and track system and TOYGUN Electro-optical targeting system (EOTS).

On November 30, 2025, the Bayraktar Kızılelma successfully completed a landmark flight and firing test campaign, achieving a global first among Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs). The platform successfully launched Gökdoğan, a Beyond-Visual-Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, which is equipped with an active radar seeker head, utilizing the autonomous guidance capabilities of its own integrated MURAD AESA Radar system. With this unparalleled operational demonstration, the Kızılelma has officially secured its position as the world's first unmanned fighter jet to validate this critical BVR engagement capability on a fully autonomous platform. On December 17, 2025, two Bayraktar Kızılelma performed the world's first autonomous close-formation flight by two unmanned fighter jets, using artificial intelligence. This was the first time in the history of aviation when two unmanned fighter aircraft flew in close formation on their own.