Turkish aviation firm exhibits fighter drone

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar exhibited on Tuesday its new drone at the country's major technology event Teknofest Karadeniz.

Kizilelma (red apple) is set to make its maiden flight at the beginning of next year, Elif Ergin, a pilot trainer at the firm, told Anadolu Agency.

The prototype was completed in May 2021, she said, adding the structural integration process has nearly completed.

However, the mechanical and avionic integration process is still underway, she said.

The drone has an aggressive maneuverability, Ergin stated, with a flight time of five hours and an operational altitude of 35,000 feet.

Calling the drone state-of-the-art, she said it has the ability to land and take off from ships with short runways like TCG Anadolu, an assualt ship of the Turkish Navy.

It has a take-off weight of six tons and a useful load carrying capacity of 1.5 tons, the official said.

Baykar plans to integrate it with all domestically developed ammunition and all ammunition in the air force inventory, she underlined.

The six-day event has been organized at the Black Sea province of Samsun by the Turkish Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation) and Türkiye's Industry and Technology Ministry.

This year's festival will feature technology competitions in more than 40 different categories such as semiconductors, drones, satellites, rockets, robotics and artificial intelligence.