From TB2 to KIZILELMA: How Türkiye Quietly Built One of the World’s Most Disruptive Unmanned Combat Ecosystems

🌍 From TB2 to KIZILELMA: How Türkiye Quietly Built One of the World’s Most Disruptive Unmanned Combat Ecosystems

Over the last decade, Türkiye has been steadily reshaping the landscape of modern warfare — not through massive fleets of traditional fighter jets, but through a progressive, bold, and highly autonomous family of unmanned combat aircraft. What started with the now-famous Bayraktar TB2 has evolved into a full spectrum of airpower that culminates in KIZILELMA, one of the world’s first operational unmanned fighter aircraft.

For many defense analysts, this evolution is more than a technological achievement; it represents a fundamental shift in how nations may project airpower in the 21st century.

TB2: The Drone That Changed Global Warfare

The Bayraktar TB2 is arguably one of the most influential military drones of modern times. It gained global attention not because it was the most advanced or the most expensive, but because it was accessible, reliable, cost-efficient, and decisively effective in real conflicts.

TB2’s impact was felt across:

Syria (Idlib)

Libya

Azerbaijan (Karabağ)

Ukraine

Africa & Middle East theaters

Its ability to combine ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) and precision strike capability on a modest budget made it a strategic equalizer for nations that couldn't afford Western-made high-tier drones.

More importantly, TB2 introduced something new:
the idea that air dominance could be achieved without conventional air forces.

🚀 2. TB3: Naval Airpower Without an Aircraft Carrier

If the TB2 revolutionized land warfare, the Bayraktar TB3 marks Türkiye’s entry into another highly exclusive domain: unmanned naval aviation.

Unlike its predecessor, TB3 is designed to:

Take off and land from short runways

Operate from Türkiye’s TCG ANADOLU — a drone-carrier concept unique in the world

Carry heavier payloads

Remain airborne longer

Perform strike, surveillance, electronic warfare, and naval missions

The TB3 essentially allows a country without a conventional aircraft carrier fleet to project naval airpower far beyond its coastline.

For foreign observers, this represents a disruptive and cost-effective blueprint for future naval strategy — one that many countries may emulate.

🛩️ 3. KIZILELMA: Türkiye's Leap Into Unmanned Fighter Aviation

Then came the leap no one expected: KIZILELMA.

Unlike TB2 or TB3, KIZILELMA isn’t a “drone” in the traditional sense.
It is an unmanned fighter aircraft.

Its design philosophy is closer to a 5th-generation combat jet than to a UAV:

Swept-wing, low observable design

High maneuverability

Autonomous dogfight algorithms

Air-to-air missile capability

AI-assisted tactical decision-making

Supersonic roadmap

But what truly sets KIZILELMA apart is its role:
It aims not to support manned jets — but to fight alongside them, or sometimes instead of them.

In global defense circles, KIZILELMA is often compared with:

The American NGAD “Collaborative Combat Aircraft” program

Russia’s S-70 Okhotnik

China’s GJ-11 Sharp Sword

Europe’s FCAS Loyal Wingman concepts

However, Türkiye is the first to fly, integrate, and operationalize such a system within a short time frame.

🌐 4. The “World-First” Achievement: A Fully National Air-to-Air Combat Chain

In late 2025, Türkiye achieved something unprecedented — not just for drones, but for military aviation as a whole.

During a test over Sinop, KIZILELMA completed the world’s first fully national unmanned air-to-air mission chain, integrating:

✈️ Bayraktar KIZILELMA — National Fighter UAV
📡 ASELSAN MURAD — National AESA Radar
🚀 TÜBİTAK SAGE GÖKDOĞAN — National Air-to-Air Missile

Foreign analysts paid attention for three reasons:

🔹 1. First Time an Unmanned Fighter Jet, AESA Radar, and Air-to-Air Missile Operated as a Single National Chain

No other country — not even the U.S., China, or Russia — has publicly demonstrated an entirely national unmanned air-to-air combat ecosystem working end-to-end.

🔹 2. A Breakthrough in Autonomous Air Combat

KIZILELMA's ability to conduct radar-guided targeting and missile engagement represents a milestone in autonomous aerial warfare.

🔹 3. Independent Defense Ecosystem

Many countries produce drones.
Very few produce UAV + Radar + Missile in a fully integrated, sovereign system.

Türkiye is now among those very few.

🔮 5. Why This Matters — A Global Perspective

From a foreign analyst’s viewpoint, Türkiye’s KIZILELMA program signals a major shift in future air warfare strategies:

▶ Cost vs. Capability Balance

Traditional fighter jets cost $70M–$120M each.
KIZILELMA is expected to be dramatically cheaper, with lower operating costs.

This creates accessible airpower for mid-sized nations.

▶ Reduced Human Risk

Unmanned fighters can take on high-risk missions:

SEAD/DEAD

Dogfights

High-threat zones

Contested airspace

without losing pilots.

▶ Distributed Air Combat

Instead of relying on a few expensive jets, nations could field swarms of autonomous combat aircraft.

▶ Geopolitical Impact

Türkiye’s ecosystem challenges traditional Western suppliers and shifts defense influence toward new regions.

🧠 6. An Evolution, Not an Accident

Foreign observers often highlight that Türkiye’s rise in unmanned aviation is not sudden — it is the result of a clear, sequential strategy:

1️⃣ TB2 → Prove the value of low-cost UAV dominance
2️⃣ TB3 → Extend UAV power to naval operations
3️⃣ KIZILELMA → Pioneer unmanned fighter aviation

In other words:

Türkiye didn’t just build drones — it built a new model of airpower.

🏁 Conclusion: KIZILELMA is Not Just a Drone — It’s a Signal

From the outside, Türkiye’s KIZILELMA is more than a technological achievement.

It is a message — to the defense world, to global militaries, and to future warfare theorists:

Air superiority is no longer defined by who has the most expensive manned fighters —
but by who adapts fastest to the autonomous era.

KIZILELMA represents that shift.

And Türkiye is now one of the countries leading it.