Turkish arms company Baykar, known for developing the Bayraktar TB2 drones used during the war in Ukraine, announced on Wednesday that its first unmanned jet-powered aircraft had made its maiden flight, Reuters reported.

The Istanbul-based company released a video showing the Kizilelma (Golden Apple) drone taking off and then returning to the air base, which it says is located 85 kilometers from the Turkish capital in the northern region of Corlu in the west of the country.

Data independently published on the website Flightradar also showed an unidentified aircraft with the designation “BYK07” over Corlu Airport on Wednesday.

Selçuk Bayraktar, president of the Turkish company, says in a video that Kizilelma has completed its first flight with a new Turkish drone equipped with a jet engine that looks similar to the one seen on fifth-generation fighter jets.

Baykar says the new engine will allow the aircraft to engage in aerial combat, unlike the Bayraktar TB-2 drone, which was designed for ground strikes.

Turkey has modified its vertical takeoff aircraft carrier, which is still under construction, to become one of the drones after the U.S. excluded it from the latest-generation F-35 fighter jet program due to Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system.

The aircraft carrier will be equipped with Kizilema drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles developed by the Turkish arms industry.

Baykar is building a factory for the production of drones in Ukraine

Baykar also announced in late October that it plans to build a drone manufacturing plant in Ukraine and plans to build its first unmanned aerial vehicle on Ukrainian soil within two years.

“Now we have an architectural project. The stage of detailed design is completed. And we will continue with the actual construction… within two years we would like to complete it,” Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of the Istanbul-based company, said at the time.

In July, Haluk, one of two brothers who run the company founded by their father, categorically ruled out Baykar supplying drones to Russia, his comments came after Moscow expressed interest in doing so.

“We did not deliver or supply them [rușilor] we will never do anything like that. We support Ukraine, we support its sovereignty, we support its struggle for independence,” Khaluk Bayraktar said on July 20.

“Turkey and Ukraine have relations at the strategic level, especially in the spheres of defense and aerospace cooperation. They are the result of many years of effort. Turkey supports Ukraine with technologies related to military drones. We purchase turbines for drone engines in Ukraine,” he also stated in an interview with CNN Turk.

Follow the latest events of the 295th day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.