Baykar’s unmanned fighter’s third prototype performed turns with high bank angles in the Afterburner Assisted Takeoff-Maneuvering System Identification test.
The manoeuvres performed in the recent test that involved takeoff with afterburners can be described as sharper (To put it in another way, more like a fighter jet).
These tests are important steps in bringing Kızılelma into a phase where its combat capabilities are tested. Of course, said phase would include the tests of the AESA radar and the munitions (Gökdoğan BVRAAM, Bozdoğan WVRAAM, Çakır cruise missile, and various guided bombs).
KIZILELMA has been designed with an emphasis on air-to-air combat capabilities, with the layout being not too far off from that of a fifth-generation fighter.
The aerodynamic layout consists of diamond wings, a V-tail, and canards providing high manoeuvrability. More importantly, no presence of a pilot means that Kızılelma’s manoeuvre envelope is not constrained by human limits but rather structural ones.
The sensor provisions include a distributed optical system (Either DAS or missile warning system), MURAD 200-A AESA radar, TOYGUN-100 EOTS, and KARAT-100 IRST. When it comes to progress in this department, the distributed optics were spotted on the prototype while the MURAD 100-A AESA radar continues its target tracking tests onboard Akıncı UCAV. Preliminary designs of both KARAT and TOYGUN were completed in 2023.
