The test campaign for Baykar’s indigenously developed KEMANKEŞ 1 AI-powered mini cruise missile is progressing successfully. In last week’s live-fire trial from a Bayraktar AKINCI HALE UCAV, KEMANKEŞ 1 scored pinpoint hits on airborne targets, destroying ground targets with the same accuracy.

TEKİRDAĞ / EDİRNE 
04 July 2025

Baykar’s high-tech, AI-powered unmanned systems continue to clear critical tests with success. Last week, the KEMANKEŞ 1 AI-Enabled Mini Smart Cruise Missile—fired for the first time from a Bayraktar AKINCI UCAV—successfully destroyed an airborne target in a demanding scenario. In yesterday’s test, it delivered pinpoint strikes against ground targets as well.

DESTROYED GROUND TARGETS
During yesterday’s trial, a Bayraktar AKINCI UCAV took off—under the coordination of the Flight Training and Test Centers in Çorlu and Keşan—carrying two KEMANKEŞ 1 missiles on its wings. The exercise once again evaluated the missile’s cruise, dive, and firing capabilities. As part of the scenario, the missiles were launched at a designated ground target. Guided by Baykar’s AI-assisted targeting system, both KEMANKEŞ 1 missiles destroyed the target with pinpoint accuracy. The engagement was recorded from the air by a Bayraktar TB2 UCAV.

ORIGINALLY DISPLAYED AT TEKNOFEST
KEMANKEŞ 1, developed indigenously by Baykar for use against strategic targets, was displayed to the public for the first time at TEKNOFEST 2023, held at Atatürk Airport from April 27 to May 1. The missile’s name honors the archers in Turkish history who could hit their mark with perfect accuracy even under the most demanding conditions.

STRIKE POWER FOR INDIGENOUS UCAVs
KEMANKEŞ 1 will be integrated with Baykar’s indigenously developed Bayraktar AKINCI UCAV, Bayraktar TB2 UCAV, and Bayraktar TB3 UCAV. The mini intelligent cruise missile can remain airborne for more than 20 minutes and, thanks to its jet engine, rapidly close on high-risk targets deep behind enemy lines. With a mission range exceeding 100 kilometers and an AI-assisted electro-optic guidance system that recognizes its target, KEMANKEŞ 1 can deliver pinpoint strikes even in adverse weather conditions.

A GAME-CHANGER ON THE BATTLEFIELD
Equipped with an AI-assisted autopilot, KEMANKEŞ 1 can fly autonomously and neutralize strategic targets with extreme precision—shifting the balance of power in combat. Designed for both day- and night-time missions, the missile’s anti-jamming technology keeps it immune to electronic interference. Throughout the flight it maintains line-of-sight communications with its launch platform, relaying all data and imagery back to the ground control station to support operators with data tracking.

EXPORT CHAMPION
Since day one Baykar has funded every project with its own resources, and—ever since launching its UAV R&D effort in 2003—has earned 83 percent of its revenue from exports. In 2023 the company achieved $1.8 billion in export sales, placing it among Türkiye’s top ten exporters across all industries. Already the largest player in the global UAV export market, Baykar sustained that momentum in 2024, again exporting $1.8 billion—representing 90 percent of its total revenue.

WORLD’S LARGEST UAV COMPANY: BAYKAR
Baykar ranked among Türkiye’s top ten exporters across all sectors in both 2023 and 2024, earning the “Export Champions” award. According to data from the Defense Industry Agency (SSB) and the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Baykar was the defense-and-aerospace export leader in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. After single-handedly generating one-third of the sector’s exports in 2023, the company accounted for a full quarter in 2024—propelling Türkiye to the forefront of the global UCAV export market. Today, Baykar—the world’s largest unmanned-aircraft company—has export agreements with 36 countries: 35 for the Bayraktar TB2 UCAV and 15 for the Bayraktar AKINCI UCAV.