Kizilelma’s live-fire exams come inside days of the carriage trials with the TOLUN and TEBER-82 munitions.
Baykar’s Kizilelma UCAV recorded one other milestone when it dropped two inert munitions, the TOLUN glide bomb and the TEBER-82 guided bomb, in its first live-fire take a look at, the Turkish drone main introduced on Oct. 8, 2025. The brand new milestone comes instantly after the carriage trials performed between late September and early October.
The video launched by the corporate confirmed the Kizilelma prototype, TC-OZB3 (the third prototype or PT-3), flying two completely different sorties for every of the munition sorts from the Flight Coaching and Check Heart in Çorlu. The drone carried a single TOLUN on a SADAK-4T quad rack on the port-side wing and one TEBER-82 on every of the wings.
Each the weapons, that are inert rounds, struck the marked goal on the bottom after a floor controller commanded their launch from the multi-screen console. The hits triggered a wave of celebration and jubilation every time within the management room.
The video additionally confirmed footage from the Electro-Optical (EO) system of an Akinci UCAV throughout each the flights, which is all the time used to document Kizilelma’s flights. The speedy progress of the plane comes as Italian navy and political management and representatives from Leonardo visited Baykar’s Bayraktar Nationwide Know-how Heart on Oct. 6, the place they have been proven demonstrations of the Kizilelma and the Akinci. The 2 firms created a 50:50 Joint Enterprise, LBA Methods, after Baykar acquired Italy’s Piaggio Aerospace.
🛡️🇹🇷KIZILELMA challenge, launched in 2021 with Baykar’s 100% personal fairness. With the excessive situational consciousness it good points via its AESA radar, it is going to be in a position to perform probably the most difficult missions.🔗 pic.twitter.com/Zqm0erMQrZ
— Defence Turk English (@Defence_Turk_EN) October 9, 2025
TOLUN and TEBER-82
Aselsan’s TOLUN was first built-in with the Akinci in 2022, following which the corporate additionally built-in the SADAK-4T Good Pneumatic Quad Rack to hold 4 items of the munition. The TOLUN makes use of GPS/INS steering towards smooth and hardened targets. Its warhead is designed by Tübitak SAGE.
On Aug. 9, 2024, the TOLUN bomb was launched by the Akinci UCAV on a floating goal at sea. Then, on Jan. 13, 2025, an ANKA III UCAV dropped it from its inside bays for the primary time. Previous to the discharge of the TOLUN from the inner bays, the ANKA III accomplished its first armed flights with a TEBER-82 on Sep. 1, 2024, carrying the guided munition on its left wing.
Aselsan can also be creating an IIR (Imaging Infrared) seeker variant to hit shifting targets and an unnamed “ground-launched model with Delta-V’s hybrid gasoline rocket motor”. The previous will use a pod to maintain the pilot “within the loop.”
The bottom launched variant suggests launch by an MLRS (A number of Rocket Launch System) just like the TRG-230. That is much like the U.S.-made GLSDB (Floor-Launched Small Diameter Bomb), that fires the modified GBU-39 SDB from the HIMARS (Excessive Mobility Artillery Rocket System).
The TEBER package, much like the JDAMs, is described as a “Winged Steerage Equipment”, that transforms Mk-81 and Mk-82 bombs into guided munitions with twin laser and GPS-guidance.
Future as a CCA for each GCAP and Turkey
The live-fire trials with TOLUN and TEBER-82 seem to counsel the Kizilelma, which has primarily been billed as a collaborative fight loyal wingman for the indigenous Kaan fighter, would even have an air to floor utility. The Kizilelma was displayed throughout July 2025’s IDEF25 exhibition with Aselasan’s ARAT 100 IRST (Infrared Search and Observe) on high of the nostril and the TOYGUN 100 EOTS (Electro-Optical Monitoring System) underneath the chin, suggesting the configuration is supposed for future prototypes or manufacturing fashions.
Up to now, we’re but to see the Kizilelma being examined in captive carry trials of the Turkish Bozdoğan (short-range) and Gökdoğan (past visual-range) AAMs, extra in step with its aerial fight UCAV position. Moreover, earlier statements by Leonardo and Baykar officers have immediately each hinted and talked about CCAs for future sixth technology jets being one of many “challenges” on which the 2 firms would work on.
The power to fireplace air-to-grounds munitions is also leveraged for SEAD/DEAD (Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Protection) roles, with many notional CCA idea renditions envisaged for that mission. The ANKA III UCAV, which can also be deliberate as CCA for the Kaan, has been photographed with multirole munitions just like the Şimşek (Lightning) and higher-performance Süper Şimşek (Tremendous Lightning).
Some Turkish protection pages have mentioned it might be used for radar-killing roles. Nonetheless, we’re removed from understanding if that munition might be built-in with the Kizilelma.
If not traditional AAM or SEAD/DEAD munitions, the Kizilelma might deploy different smaller and cheaper decoy drones, roughly the scale of the TOLUN, meant to swarm and overwhelm adversary radars. Or, the TOLUN itself might be used for SEAD/DEAD roles, if Aselsan additionally decides to develop a model with a radio-frequency seeker.
The U.Ok., Italy and Japan would nonetheless must quickly area a CCA design for his or her GCAP idea, the primary demonstrator of which is deliberate to fly by 2027. A prepared design considerably cuts improvement and fielding timelines, particularly as the way forward for the competing French-German-Spanish FCAS (Future Fight Air System) seems bleak.
Turkey’s rise
The sturdy chance of the Kizilelma, or at the very least a closely “Europeanized” spinoff, flying alongside the GCAP fighter sooner or later can’t be dominated out. Turkey can also be laying the foundations of an rising defense-commercial relationship with Japan, one other GCAP member nation.
This nonetheless might be a separate challenge from the GCAP, and as a substitute merely be Tokyo’s pursuit of different and cheaper MALE and HALE-class drones for its huge maritime swathes within the western Pacific. Late in September, Turkish overseas minister Hakan Fidan’s additionally claimed that U.S. officers informally requested if Baykar might open a drone manufacturing facility within the U.S. forward of the assembly between Presidents Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
KIZILELMA ilk atış testinde hedefi 12’den vurdu @BaykarTech pic.twitter.com/vvbWGlGc80
— tolgaozbekcom (@tolgaozbek_com) October 9, 2025
Ankara’s gorgeous rise as an aerospace and drone energy has accorded it the dignity of being a smaller center energy gaining inroads into the extremely protected navy markets of the G7 international locations.
