Baykar’s Kızılelma Integrates Aselsan EOTS
Turkish defense innovation has reached a new pinnacle as Baykar’s Kızılelma integrates Aselsan EOTS, marking a groundbreaking achievement in unmanned combat aircraft technology. This world-first integration positions Türkiye among an elite group of nations possessing advanced stealth capabilities in autonomous fighter aircraft.
Aselsan Revolutionary Technology Integration
The Bayraktar Kızılelma, Türkiye’s first indigenously developed unmanned fighter aircraft, has successfully integrated the Toygun electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) developed by Aselsan. This milestone represents the first time globally that an embedded EOTS has been implemented on an unmanned fighter platform. When Baykar’s Kızılelma integrates Aselsan EOTS, it achieves a capability previously found only on the most advanced fifth-generation manned fighter jets, such as the American F-35.
The integration is particularly significant because the Toygun system is concealed within the aircraft’s airframe rather than mounted externally as a pod, like on platforms such as the F-16. This embedded design is crucial for maintaining the Kızılelma’s low radar cross-section, ensuring the aircraft can operate with minimal detection risk in hostile environments.
Successful Flight Testing and Performance Validation
Baykar announced the successful integration on Monday, describing it as a “stealth eye for Bayraktar Kızılelma.” The system underwent rigorous testing at the Akıncı Flight Training and Test Center in Çorlu, with two separate flight tests conducted within the past week demonstrating outstanding performance.
The tests validated several critical capabilities:
- Stable image generation across various altitudes and speed regimes
- Long-range tracking stability on moving targets
- High-accuracy laser designation functions
- Seamless data exchange with the integrated mission computer
- Consistent performance under demanding environmental conditions
According to Baykar, all technical criteria required for serial integration have been fully met, indicating that the development process is progressing as planned and the aircraft is moving closer to operational deployment.
Advanced Capabilities and Strategic Advantages
The Toygun EOTS represents Aselsan’s most advanced product in the infrared band and provides the Kızılelma with significant operational advantages. As an electro-optical imaging and targeting solution specifically designed for platforms where Radar Cross Section (RCS) and Aerodynamic Drag Coefficient are critical, the system offers targeting solutions for both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.
Protected by a faceted optical window specifically designed for the platform, the system includes several next-generation features:
Wide-Spectrum Scanning: The system contributes to 360-degree situational awareness, providing comprehensive battlefield perception.
High-Resolution IR Imaging: Enables detection of strategic targets and moving ground or sea elements from extended ranges.
AI-Supported Capabilities: Artificial intelligence-enhanced target tracking and automatic target classification algorithms significantly boost the jet’s autonomous mission performance.
These capabilities allow the Kızılelma to penetrate hostile airspace while maintaining its low-observable profile, detect targets without being caught by radar, designate them with laser guidance, and neutralize them using indigenous munitions.
Joining an Elite Global Club
With this achievement, Baykar’s Kızılelma integrates Aselsan EOTS technology places Türkiye among only three countries worldwide possessing this critical capability. The development represents a significant leap forward for Turkish aviation and defense technology, demonstrating the country’s growing technological independence and innovation capacity.
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The Kızılelma, which completed its first flight test in late 2022, is regarded as one of the most notable additions to Türkiye’s expanding defense portfolio. The successful integration of domestically developed systems like the Toygun EOTS further validates the country’s strategic approach to developing indigenous defense capabilities.
Baykar’s Export Success and Global Leadership
Baykar has established itself as a global leader in unmanned aerial vehicle technology, having conducted all its projects with its own resources since beginning UAV research and development activities in 2003. The company’s commercial success reflects its technological achievements, with 83% of all revenues historically coming from exports.
In both 2023 and 2024, Baykar achieved exports worth $1.8 billion, placing it among Türkiye’s top 10 exporting companies across all industries. As the world’s largest exporter of unmanned aerial vehicles, the company generated 90% of its revenues from exports in 2024.
Baykar has been the export leader of the defense and aerospace sector for four consecutive years (2021-2024) according to data from the Presidency of Defense Industries and the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly. The company accounted for one-third of the entire sector’s exports in 2023 and one-quarter in 2024, making Türkiye the global leader in UAV exports.
To date, Baykar has signed export agreements with 37 countries, including 36 countries for the Bayraktar TB2 and 16 countries for the Bayraktar Akıncı drones, cementing its position as the world’s largest UAV company.
The successful integration of the Toygun EOTS into the Bayraktar Kızılelma represents more than just a technological milestone—it signals Türkiye’s emergence as a major player in advanced aviation technology. As Baykar’s Kızılelma integrates Aselsan EOTS and moves toward serial production, the aircraft is expected to attract significant international interest, potentially expanding Baykar’s already impressive export portfolio.
The development also showcases the success of Türkiye’s strategy of fostering collaboration between domestic defense companies like Baykar and Aselsan, creating synergies that enable world-class capabilities previously the domain of only a handful of nations. As the Kızılelma program continues to advance, it promises to carry Türkiye “into a new league in aviation,” fulfilling Baykar’s vision of delivering cutting-edge unmanned combat capabilities to customers worldwide.
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