Turkish defense company Baykar plans to make a supersonic variant of its unmanned fighter jet, the Bayraktar Kızılelma.
Selçuk Bayraktar, chief technology officer (CTO) at Baykar noted; “we even plan to make a supersonic variant,” when speaking on the features of Kızılelma, Turkey’s first indigenously developed and produced unmanned fighter aircraft.
“Kızılelma will be able to fight against warplanes,” Bayraktar said, “its cruising time is several times longer compared to Baykar’s latest drone, the Akıncı unmanned combat aerial vehicle.”
The National Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle System (MIUS), named Kızılelma (Red Apple), with low detectability and hypersonic speed, is an extremely critical and strategic project by Baykar whose battle-proven combat drones already attract attention.
The jet-powered, single-engine, low-observable unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), is currently in development and is projected to be capable of flying for five hours and reaching speeds of up to 800 kph (500 mph or Mach 0.64).
The uncrewed fighter jet is designed to conduct a multitude of military actions, including:
- Strategic offensives
- Close Air Support (CAS)
- Missile offensives
- Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD)
- Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (DEAD)
