As the tests of the KIZILELMA unmanned fighter are ongoing with the third prototype, Baykar disclosed the development of various features for the next phases.

Baykar has revealed the development of various new capabilities for the Kızılelma unmanned fighter on its official website. The projects are Chaff/Flare Dispenser and Internal Weapons Bay Lowering Mechanism, mentioned explicitly as being for KIZILELMA; Air-to-Air Missile Launcher and Air-to-Air Refuelling System R&D predicted to be in the same direction.

Chaff/Flare Dispenser

Chaff/Flare Dispenser will allow Kızılelma to use dispensed countermeasures to help with evading incoming missiles. Chaff is used against radar-guided missiles by disrupting the radar feedback through highly reflective chunks, while flares emit heat to fool infrared-guided missiles.

As an unmanned fighter with a layout emphasising air-to-air combat, Kızılelma has to be capable of protecting itself from enemy missiles, as stealth does not guarantee that the aircraft will not be fired upon, especially with advancing sensor technology.

Some apertures distributed around the fuselage have been observed on the third and fourth prototypes of Kızılelma, thought to be missile warning or situational awareness systems.

Air-to-Air Refuelling

While this feature is not explicitly stated as being for Kızılelma, it will be no surprise that Kızılelma will be the first to obtain this capability among Baykar’s products. All modern fighter jets have air-to-air refuelling capability, either by a fuselage-mounted port for booms of tankers or a probe for hose-based refuelling. Considering that Kızılelma has a layout and mission profile in parallel with a fighter jet, it would need this capability to extend the mission range to keep operating alongside the manned fighters.
It is stated that Turkish or foreign sub-contractors will take part in the R&D of the air-to-air refuelling system. Within the scope of R&D, localisation, literature study, preliminary integration studies, and market studies will be performed.

Internal Weapons Bay Lowering Mechanism

The goal of the internal weapons bay lowering mechanism is described as easing up the munition loading processes on the ground, as it is harder for a loader to reach a cavity in the fuselage compared to an external hardpoint under the wing.

Author: Kaan Azman

Editor: Özgür Ekşi