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 Drone a jato turco infographic
A infografia mostra o drone a jato Baykar Kizilelma da Turquia.
GN43689PT

DEFESA

Drone de combate Kizilelma realiza voo inaugural

By Duncan Mil

December 16, 2022 - A firma de defesa turca Baykar realizou o voo inaugural do seu veículo
aéreo de combate não tripulado (UCAV), quando a companhia continua ajudar a Ucrânia a combater as forças russas.

Baykar says in addition to conventional drone missions, its Kizilelma UCAV will be able to conduct air-to-air engagements.

“Our 20-year dream in our national drone adventure has come true today,” Baykar chief technical official Selcuk Bayraktar said.

The company’s earlier Bayraktar TB2 drone is in service in 17 countries and has featured prominently in global conflicts. Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has revealed that Ukraine has received 50 armed TB2 drones from the Turkish arms company since Russia’s February 24 invasion.

The fighter-like Kizilelma will increase the top speed of the existing TB2s from 250km/h to 735km/h (0.6 mach) and weapons capacity from 155kg to 1,500kg, enabling it to support a wide variety of air-to-ground and air-to-air missions. The Kizilelma is powered by a single Ukrainian-designed turbofan engine, allowing an endurance of five hours.

After the U.S. dropped Turkey from the F-35 joint strike fighter program, Ankara converted its vertical take-off aircraft carrier, which is still under construction, into a drone carrier. The ship will serve as a base for Kizilema and other drones in use by the Turkish military.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 16/12/2022; STORY: Graphic News
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