Turkey’s unmanned fighter Bayraktar KIZILELMA detected a jet-powered target aircraft over the Black Sea with ASELSAN’s MURAD AESA radar and shot it down using TÜBİTAK-SAGE’s GOKDOGAN beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, marking a historic world first.
The Turkish Ministry of National Defense has announced a landmark achievement for the country’s defense industry. Bayraktar KIZILELMA, the unmanned fighter aircraft developed by Baykar, successfully shot down a jet-powered aerial target with an air-to-air missile during a live-fire test over the Black Sea.
Historic shot over the Black Sea
As part of the test scenario, a high-speed, jet-powered target drone was launched over the Black Sea near the Sinop firing range. The target was detected and tracked by the MURAD AESA radar developed by ASELSAN and integrated into the nose of KIZILELMA. The active electronically scanned array radar provided real-time target position and velocity data to the aircraft’s mission computer.
Once KIZILELMA achieved a solid lock, it fired the GOKDOGAN beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile developed by TÜBİTAK-SAGE from one of its underwing hardpoints. Guided using data from the MURAD AESA radar, GOKDOGAN closed in on the jet-powered target and scored a direct hit, destroying it in mid-air. This marked the first time in the world that an unmanned fighter jet has used a radar-guided air-to-air missile to destroy an aerial target.
MURAD AESA and GOKDOGAN: A fully indigenous chain
One of the key aspects of this test is that the entire kill chain is indigenous:
- Target detection and tracking are performed by ASELSAN’s MURAD AESA radar.
- Engagement logic and fire control are handled by KIZILELMA’s onboard mission computer.
- The target is destroyed by GOKDOGAN, a BVR air-to-air missile developed by TÜBİTAK-SAGE.
This places Turkey among the very few countries capable of fielding an unmanned combat aircraft that can independently detect, track and engage aerial targets using its own radar and missile systems.
Senior commanders watched from F-16s
The historic test was monitored from the air by senior leadership. Turkish Air Force Commander General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu, Combat Air Force Commander General Rafet Dalkıran, ASELSAN General Manager Ahmet Akyol and Baykar Chairman Selçuk Bayraktar followed the engagement from F-16 fighter jets that took off from Merzifon Air Base and flew over the test area.
Their presence in manned fighters alongside KIZILELMA symbolically pointed to the future concept of mixed human–unmanned fighter formations sharing the same airspace and mission.
A new era in air power
Until now, most countries have employed unmanned aerial vehicles primarily for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and air-to-ground strike missions. KIZILELMA’s successful air-to-air engagement marks a turning point, showing that unmanned fighters can also play a direct role in air superiority missions.
Defense analysts suggest that such systems could:
- Reduce the risk to pilots in high-threat airspace,
- Take over long-endurance air patrols from manned fighters,
- Strengthen Turkey’s position in the growing market for unmanned combat aircraft.
The GOKDOGAN test is therefore seen not only as a technical milestone, but also as a sign of how quickly air force doctrines may evolve towards manned–unmanned teaming and, eventually, fully unmanned air dominance concepts.
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