Turkish defence company Baykar announced on Sunday that two prototypes of its Bayraktar KIZILELMA unmanned combat aircraft have completed the world’s first fully autonomous close-formation flight by jet-powered drones. The achievement marked a major milestone in global aviation, as no other country has publicly demonstrated this capability with a fighter-class unmanned aircraft.
Baykar conducted the test at the AKINCI Flight Training and Test Center in Corlu, northwestern Türkiye, as part of ongoing trials of KIZILELMA’s smart fleet autonomy system. During the test, the third prototype, PT3, and the fifth prototype, PT5, took off consecutively and performed synchronized maneuvers entirely without human intervention.
Smart Fleet Autonomy Demonstrated
Once airborne, the two unmanned combat aircraft maintained close formation autonomously using smart fleet autonomy algorithms developed by Baykar’s engineering teams. This capability allows multiple unmanned platforms to operate under a leader aircraft, dynamically adjusting their relative positions while executing joint missions.
With this test, KIZILELMA became the first unmanned combat aircraft system to demonstrate autonomous close-formation flight, a complex task traditionally limited to manned fighter jets. Defence experts view the development as a significant step toward future air combat concepts centered on coordinated unmanned systems.
Combat Air Patrol Mission Tested
During the same flight, Baykar also tested a Combat Air Patrol (CAP) mission, a core component of modern air defence. The KIZILELMA prototypes conducted patrol flights along a predefined route while operating as an autonomous fleet, confirming the feasibility of air defence missions conducted by national unmanned combat aircraft.
Baykar said such patrol and interception missions, currently carried out by manned fighter jets, could eventually be performed autonomously by KIZILELMA fleets.
Previous Record-Breaking Success
KIZILELMA has already made aviation history in a November 29 test off the coast of Sinop, where it destroyed a jet-powered aerial target using the GOKDOGAN beyond-visual-range missile. The aircraft identified the target with ASELSAN’s MURAD AESA radar, marking the world’s first such achievement by an unmanned combat aircraft.
