The third prototype of the KIZILELMA unmanned fighter has retracted its landing gear during its afterburner-assisted takeoff aerodynamics system identification test.
Shortly after the first flight test with captive munition, where a pair of TOLUN SDBs were carried, the third prototype of KIZILELMA, PT-3, retracted its landing gear for the first time.
The importance of the test lies in the fact that PT-3, alongside PT-4, is closer to the production aircraft compared to the first prototype, as it is more refined aerodynamically and fitted with a more powerful engine. These changes render the two newer prototypes with higher flight performance, and the landing gear must be retracted to conduct full-scale tests of performance parameters such as speed and agility.
KIZILELMA is projected to act as an air-to-air focused platform with a wide range of sensor provisions (MURAD 200-A AESA radar, KARAT 100 IRST, TOYGUN 100 EOTS), low observability and high agility alongside the air-to-surface focused ANKA-III UCAV of TUSAŞ. The unmanned fighter is expected to enter production in near future with the production model feautring IRST and EOTS sensors exhibited at IDEF25.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor: Özgür Ekşi
