Türkiye’s Bayraktar drone strikes aerial targets with AI-based mini cruise missile (VIDEO)

July 2, 2025, by Fatima Bahtić

Türkiye’s domestically manufactured uncrewed combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) Bayraktar Akinci has launched AI-based mini cruise missile Kemankes 1 and destroyed airborne targets with pinpoint accuracy.

The high-tech missile, developed by Turkish company Baykar, was launched for the first time from Bayraktar Akinci and successfully completed a demanding air-target destruction mission.

Operating under the joint coordination of Baykar’s Flight Test and Training Centers in Çorlu and Keşan, Bayraktar Akinci took off carrying two Kemankes 1 missiles on its under-wing pylons.

During the mission, the system’s identification, cruise and visual dive (air-target kill) modes were evaluated. In the scenario, both missiles were fired at moving airborne targets towed by another drone. Thanks to Baykar’s AI-aided targeting system, the missiles navigated autonomously and destroyed their designated targets with high precision, according to Baykar.

All mission objectives were met, confirming Kemankes 1’s ability to neutralize even the smallest aerial threats, it was highlighted.

Kemankes 1 is being integrated on Bayraktar Akinci, Bayraktar TB2, and the forthcoming Bayraktar TB3. The TB3 version recently marked a major milestone by completing 100 successful sorties during ongoing test operations on the TCG Anadolu.

Türkiye’s Bayraktar drone marks 100 sorties on TCG Anadolu (VIDEO)

UUV/UAV

Powered by a jet engine and capable of roughly one hour of flight, the mini cruise missile can penetrate deep behind enemy lines. With a range exceeding 200 kilometers, it employs an AI-aided electro-optical seeker that recognizes its target and delivers a precision strike under all weather conditions.

With its AI-assisted autopilot system, the system will conduct autonomous flight and neutralize strategic targets.

Capable of operating day or night, Kemankes 1 will carry out its mission unaffected by electronic jamming thanks to its built-in anti-jamming technology. Maintaining full line-of-sight communications with its host platform, it will transmit all data and imagery it collects to the ground control station through that platform, giving operators continuous situational awareness, the company said.