Turkey creates new jet fighter drone for aircraft carrier
Business Insider:
In less than a decade, Turkey has become a drone powerhouse. Unmanned aerial vehicles were its defense industry's single largest export last year, totaling $871.5 million — an 80% increase over 2021.
Much of that market is served by the firm Baykar, which produces the TB2 model widely known for its use in recent conflicts, including in Ukraine. Baykar has built more than 400 TB2s for 24 countries.
But the TB2 is just one of Baykar's models. On January 23, the company announced that the Kızılelma, its newest and potentially most promising product, had successfully conducted its second flight test.
The test is another step forward for what may become the company's crown jewel and the high point of Turkey's burgeoning drone industry.
A jet-powered unmanned combat aerial vehicle, the Kızılelma — "Red Apple" in Turkish — is marketed as a "fighter UAV" and is part of Baykar's Combatant Unmanned Aircraft System project.
The Kızılelma is 48 feet long and has a 32-foot wingspan. It has a range of 500 nautical miles, an operational altitude of 35,000 feet, and a top speed of about 460 mph. Baykar says it has a maximum takeoff weight of roughly 13,200 pounds and can carry a payload up to 3,300 pounds and fly for five hours.
Baykar also claims the Kızılelma will have features that make it stealthy. These include an angular design that gives it a low radar cross-section and an internal weapons bay. Other advanced features include an active electronically scanned array, an antenna enabling both line-of-sight and beyond line-of-sight control, and the ability to take off and land fully autonomously.
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It looks like a modern jet fighter in the picture at the link above. Turkey's innovation in drone warfare should not be ignored. In fact, the US should become a buyer at some point, if it fails to keep pace.
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