Turkish KIZILELMA drone achieves world-first autonomous formation flight

Türkiye has secured a pioneering position in global aviation with the successful demonstration of the world's first fully autonomous close-formation flight by jet-powered unmanned combat aircraft. The milestone was achieved by the Turkish defense giant Baykar using two different prototypes of its indigenous Bayraktar KIZILELMA fighter drone during a test on Sunday.

Historic Test in Çorlu

The landmark flight was carried out at the AKINCI Flight Training and Test Center located in Çorlu, northwestern Türkiye. During the test, the third and fifth prototypes of the KIZILELMA aircraft took off consecutively. Once airborne, the drones executed synchronized maneuvers and maintained a close formation entirely through autonomous systems, with no pilot input or remote control intervention. This was enabled by sophisticated smart fleet autonomy algorithms developed in-house by Baykar engineers.

Advancing Smart Fleet Autonomy

The achievement represents a significant leap in unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) technology, moving beyond single-platform operations to coordinated fleet actions. The capability allows multiple unmanned platforms to operate under a lead aircraft's command, autonomously adjusting their positions to carry out joint missions. As part of the test, the drones also performed a simulated Combat Air Patrol (CAP) mission, verifying the feasibility of using autonomous KIZILELMA fleets for future air defense and interception tasks traditionally handled by manned fighter jets.

Building on a Record of Innovation

This test adds to a series of historic firsts for the KIZILELMA platform. In November, the unmanned fighter made history by becoming the first of its kind to destroy a jet-powered aerial target using a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, the domestically developed GOKDOGAN. Baykar, which is the largest exporter of unmanned aerial vehicles globally with agreements across 37 countries, continues to advance its technology through indigenous research and development. Company Chairman Selçuk Bayraktar heralded the formation flight as a "World's first!" achievement on social media.