Baykar’s indigenous unmanned combat aircraft Bayraktar KIZILELMA has completed its first mated flight test with ASELSAN’s TOLUN munition.
Footage of the flight was posted on Baykar board chairman Selçuk Bayraktar’s and Baykar’s official social media accounts. Officials described the test as the initial step in integrating the TOLUN munition with the KIZILELMA platform.
Haluk Görgün, head of the Turkish Secretariat of Defence Industries, commented on the test in a social media post, stating:"Our National Unmanned Combat Aircraft Bayraktar KIZILELMA has successfully completed its first captive flight test with ASELSAN’s TOLUN munition.
This important test is not only about integrating a weapon, but a strategic indicator of the stage we have reached in air-to-ground integration capability.
When the accuracy of TOLUN is combined with the maneuverability of KIZILELMA, the outcome has the potential to shape the combat doctrines of the future.
I sincerely congratulate Baykar and ASELSAN, as well as all the engineers, technicians, and Presidency staff who contributed to this achievement with their dedication and effort. I wish this capability, developed by the children of our nation, to bring success to the soldiers of our fully independent defense industry.
Our National Unmanned Combat Aircraft is flying with our national munitions. This is only the beginning..."
Baykar and ASELSAN did not release operational details such as the flight envelope or weapon carriage parameters. The announcements focused on the technical milestone of integrating a domestically developed munition with a domestically developed unmanned combat aircraft.
Analysts note that mated flight tests are an early phase in weapons integration, intended to verify structural carriage aerodynamics and basic system compatibility before live release trials. Companies typically proceed through captive carriage trials, separation tests and guided release evaluations in sequence.
Baykar has advanced development work on KIZILELMA in recent years and ASELSAN is a frequent supplier of avionics and munitions to Turkish defence projects. The agencies involved described the test as a step in broader efforts to field indigenous air to surface capabilities.