Turkey presents Bayraktar with a Ukrainian engine

Turkish company Baykar Makina has presented a prototype of a new combat drone Bayraktar Kızılelma. It is the first jet drone, the outstanding qualities of which are provided by Ukrainian-made engines.

The company has shown the first photos of Kızılelma on Twitter. Its first flight is scheduled for 2023, but the company believes that this may happen sooner.

What is known about the drone

• Kızılelma means ‘red apple’ in Turkish. In Turkish mythology, it symbolizes goals, ideas, or dreams, far from reaching but so attractive that one is even more persistent in the pursuit.
• The working title of the drone is MIUS, which stands for the National Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle System in Turkish.
• The drone is expected to be able to reach a speed of up to 800 km/h and is envisaged to carry 1.5 tons of useful payload.
• MIUS will be capable of taking off and landing on Turkish flagship TCG Anadolu, which is also the company’s latest development.
• The autonomously maneuvering MIUS will be capable of operating in tandem with piloted aircraft and may carry air-to-air missiles.
• Baykar ordered engines from the Ukrainian state enterprise Ivchenko-Progress in November 2021. According to the agreement, Ivchenko-Progress has to supply AI-25TLT jet engines and AI-322F turbofan engines to equip MIUS.
• The unmanned fighter jet is projected to conduct a multitude of military actions, such as strategic offensives, close air support (CAS), missile offensives, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), and destruction of enemy air defenses (DEAD).
• Baykar Makina has high hopes for the project. If all goes according to plan, the Turkish drone and the new jet will become the world’s leading.