Turkey’s unmanned fighter, Bayraktar Kizilelma, became the first drone in the world to strike a jet from long range, in a successful test over the Black Sea this week.

"For the first time in the world, an unmanned combat aircraft fired an air-to-air missile with radar guidance and hit an aerial target with perfect accuracy," Turkish leading unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturer Baykar said.

Why It Matters

The breakthrough in unmanned air combat shows increasing reliance on drones systems to support manned combat aircraft and NATO member Turkey has proven its capabilities in drones, notably with the Bayraktar TB-2 used by the Ukrainian army in the war with Russia. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pursued an indigenous defense program which is becoming increasingly ambitious, p

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