Turkey's Baykar CEO Selçuk Bayraktar showcases KIZILELMA UAV to NATO delegation

Baykar Chairman Selçuk Bayraktar told a NATO parliamentary delegation that unmanned combat aircraft will replace the world’s roughly 15,000 manned fighter jets within the next 30 years, creating a major shift in air warfare. He presented the company’s indigenous stealth drone, KIZILELMA, likening its technological breakthrough to the computer that defeated chess champion Garry Kasparov, and emphasized its lower cost, lack of pilot training requirements, and rapid software‑driven capability upgrades.

The meeting, hosted at Turkey’s Özdemir Bayraktar National Technology Center, was attended by Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş and NATO Parliamentary Assembly President Marcos Perestrello de Vasconcellos. Bayraktar said Turkey aims to lead the global transition to autonomous combat platforms and highlighted the challenges of defending against cheap, kamikaze‑type drones.

Baykar’s vision positions the KIZILELMA program as a potential “game‑changer” for future generations of combat aircraft, with the firm asserting it will demonstrate the technology to the world in coming conflicts.