On 25 and 28 July 2026, Baykar’s Bayraktar Kızılelma released precision-guided munitions from its internal weapons bay for the first time, scoring direct hits in two separate firing tests, the company announced on 30 July 2026.
Roketsan’s TEBER‑82 and Aselsan’s TOLUN
The two releases demonstrated different mission profiles. The first test, on 25 July, used Roketsan’s TEBER‑82 — a guidance kit that converts a conventional Mk‑82 general-purpose bomb into a precision-guided weapon. Roketsan rates the TEBER‑82 for a circular error probable (CEP) of less than 3 m. The second test, on 28 July, employed Aselsan’s TOLUN, a glide munition carrying a 105 kg penetrating warhead. Aselsan rates TOLUN for use against approximately 1 m of reinforced concrete and quotes a stand-off range of up to 57 km from the launching aircraft.
Internal weapons bay: survivability trade-offs and engineering hurdles
Carrying weapons inside an internal bay preserves a reduced radar cross-section (RCS), but it also constrains weapon quantity and size compared with external hardpoints. Baykar has previously flown the Kızılelma with both weapons during October 2025 carriage trials; those earlier flights validated fit, aerodynamic behaviour and separation clearance but did not include live releases. An internal release adds further engineering challenges: once the bay doors open the munition must pass cleanly through the aircraft’s boundary layer, clear the airframe without unsafe aerodynamic interaction, and allow the aircraft to prosecute the target. Opening the bay also produces a transient increase in RCS. Baykar did not disclose the altitude, speed or launch envelope used during the July releases, nor how long the bay doors remain open during a weapon-release cycle.
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End the scrambleSerial-production S2 airframe and prior weapons and autonomy milestones
Baykar said both tests used the S2 airframe, significant because S2 is a serial-production configuration rather than one of the earlier prototypes used in the flight-test programme. Using a serial airframe places the weapon-release achievement closer to the configuration intended for Turkish Air Force units. Baykar’s announcement also listed earlier weapons events, including firings of the Gökdoğan air-to-air missile, the LGK‑82 laser-guidance kit and Roketsan’s JET‑230 supersonic air-to-ground missile. Two notable autonomy and engagement milestones from late 2025 were also cited: a claimed first beyond‑visual‑range air‑to‑air engagement by an unmanned fighter on 29 November, and the PT3 and PT5 prototypes completing the first autonomous close‑formation flight of two unmanned fighters on 27 December.
Production, exports, and the export customer picture
Kızılelma entered serial production ahead of its first planned deliveries to the Turkish Air Force during 2026. Indonesia became the aircraft’s first export customer in May 2026; since the same month the Pakistan Air Force has been reported as interested in acquiring the type through an arrangement that would include a local production component. Baykar reported $2.2 billion in drone exports during 2025, representing approximately 88% of the company’s revenue, while Türkiye’s overall defence exports reached about $10.05 billion in 2025. Any export or licence-production arrangement will be evaluated against these industrial and market realities.
Propulsion: the outstanding external dependency
The S2 configuration flown in July is powered by the Ukrainian Ivchenko‑Progress AI‑322F engine, introduced from the fourth prototype onward in place of the less powerful AI‑25TLT. Turkish industry is developing a domestic replacement, but Baykar’s announcement underscores that propulsion remains the programme’s principal foreign dependency. The AI‑322F comes from a Ukrainian supplier operating under wartime conditions; Baykar noted no published delivery schedule for a Turkish replacement, and any export customer seeking licence production would inherit that exposure.
What this means for the Turkish Air Force, Indonesia, and the Pakistan Air Force
- Turkish Air Force: The serial‑production S2 successfully demonstrating internal releases narrows the gap between low‑observable shaping and a usable strike capability; the service will receive aircraft configured as those tested in July, with weapons integration already demonstrated for domestic munitions.
- Indonesia: As the first export customer, Indonesia’s procurement will be beginning from a configuration that has now completed internal‑bay releases with two Turkish munitions, a practical data point for any follow‑on training, logistics and operational planning.
- Pakistan Air Force (reported interest): Reported interest in May 2026 included the prospect of local production; prospective PAF acquisition would need to account for the engine dependency and the industrial arrangements required to support licence manufacture.
The July releases are both a technical milestone and a commercial signal. Successfully freeing weapons from an internal bay on a serial-production airframe demonstrates the Kızılelma programme has bridged a major engineering gap between stealthy carriage and practical strike use. The announcement leaves propulsion as the conspicuous external exposure: the AI‑322F engine remains sourced from Ukraine and a Turkish replacement has no published delivery schedule. Prospective operators and partners will weigh that dependency alongside the demonstrated internal‑bay capability and the domestic strike package shown by Roketsan’s and Aselsan’s munitions.
