Star of combat drones on the Ukrainian battlefields, the Bayraktar firm returns with a stealth model named as “Bayraktar Kizilelma”, powered by a turbojet engine. The drone is even motorized by the Ukrainians. The prototype of the aircraft has just been presented on an air show in Turkey.
The war in Ukraine demonstrated the importance of using drones. Among them is the famous Bayraktar TB2 whose praises have even been sung by an Ukrainian song.
Its little brother the Mini-Bayraktar, specialized in observation, is also present above the battlefields. Let’s hope that this war ends before the arrival of the latest opus from the Bayrak constructor, with the Bayraktar Kizilelma.
The second prototype of this drone has just been presented for the first time at Teknofest Black Sea, an aeronautical fair currently being held in Turkey.
With this drone, the firm is making a radical change in category. The aircraft, which should make its maiden flight in early 2023, will be stealthy and equipped with a turbojet engine that can push it to nearly 980 km / h in cruise at more than 12,000 meters above sea level with a peak at Mach 1.
In terms of architecture, the drone is reminiscent of the lines of the famous American F-35, with two vertical stabilizers and two canard planes at the front.
Its autonomy will be less than the TB2, since instead of 24 hours of endurance, it will be limited to 5 hours.
More importantly, the stealth unmanned fighter jet will be free of human body limitations such as G-force. The maneuverability will be dramatically huge compared to manned fighter jets.
A supersonic stealth UAV
With its velocity, its use remains different and the aircraft will be able to evolve with the capabilities of a fighter aircraft, while remaining stealthy.
The firm explains that the aircraft will be equipped with “aggressive” maneuverability to be able to autonomously carry out avoidance maneuvers or close combat thanks to its on-board AI.
In other words, on paper, it would be able to confront a fighter plane. It can also be used as a wingman of a manned combat aircraft. Even if the choice of engine had been taken before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is a Ukrainian turbojet engine that will propel the drone.
It will be the Ivchenko-Progress AI-25, a Soviet-designed reactor that still powers the Czechoslovak Aero L-39 Albatros trainer.
The Bayraktar Kizilelma will be able to carry up to 1.5 tons of ammunition and payload. Its maximum mass will be 3.5 tons, so this drone promises to be more massive than an MQ-9 Reaper.
It will be able to carry air-to-air, air-to-ground missiles and cruise missiles, with the possibility of placing them in the hold to maintain its stealth.
Another particularity, the drone will be able to take off and land on an aircraft carrier, without requiring a catapult.
The first flight of the prototype dubbed MİUS will fly at close to the speed of sound, but the next models will be supersonic.
Bayraktar Kizilelma Specifications
BASIC FLIGHT PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
- 500 Nm duty radius
- 35,000 feet operational altitude
- 5 hours stay in the air
- 6 tons maximum take-off weight
- 0.6 mach cruise speed
- 1500kg payload capacity
ADVANCED FEATURES
- Automatic Landing and Takeoff
- Low Visibility
- High Maneuverability
- Line of Sight and Line of Sight Communication
- Take-off and Landing Capability from Short-Runway Aircraft Carriers
- High Situational Awareness with AESA Radar
PERFORMANCE
- 5 hours of air time
- 3500 feet operational altitude
- 500 nm duty radius
- Automatic take off and landing
- 0.6 mach cruise speed
- 6000 kg maximum take-off weight
- 1500 kg payload capacity
- High situational awareness with AESA radar
- Take-off and landing capability from short-runway aircraft carriers
- Line-of-sight and pre-line-of-sight communication
- low visibility
- High maneuverability
