Baykar Begins Testing Process of the Kemankeş 2 Mini Smart Cruise Missile
Baykar Technology, which gained recognition for its the unmanned systems it has developed in recent years, is still working to produce munitions that will greatly enhance the capabilities of the Bayraktar TB2 and Bayraktar Akıncı aircraft, within the scope of the feedback received from the battlefield. As a result of these efforts, the company announced that testing of the Block II version of the Bayraktar Kemankeş Mini Smart Cruise Missile, which was unveiled last year and exported to Pakistan, has begun.
Selçuk Bayraktar, the company’s Deputy General Manager for Technology (CTO), shared the first flight footage of the new Mini Smart Cruise Missile, named Kemankeş 2, at the Baykar Flight Training and Test Center in Keşan, Edirne, on his X account. In the video shared with the title “Golden Age of Turkish Aviation”, it was seen that the Kemankeş 2 missile was not yet integrated into the Bayraktar TB2 or Bayraktar Akıncı unmanned aerial vehicles and was launched from the cargo bed of a 4×4 off-road vehicle.
The information provided by Baykar Technology about KEMANKEŞ 2 is very similar to the previous product in the series, KEMANKEŞ. According to Baykar, KEMANKEŞ 2, like its predecessor, can stay in the air for approximately one hour and, thanks to its jet engine, can travel quickly and be effective against the riskiest targets behind enemy lines. The KEMANKEŞ 2 is expected to have a mission range of 200+ kilometers, perform autonomous flight with its artificial intelligence-supported autopilot system, and operate without being affected by electronic jamming thanks to its anti-jamming technology. The new system will also assist the user with data tracking by transmitting all data and images collected to the ground control station.
Baykar Technology did not provide any additional details about KEMANKEŞ 2. However, the first launch test images reveal that Kemankeş 2 is significantly larger than its predecessor, with a length of 1.73 meters, a wingspan of 1.25 meters, and a weight of 3 kg. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the new Mini Smart Cruise Missile resembles a winged loitering munition known as “KaGeM V3” bearing the BAYKAR logo that was placed at the Pakistan National Aerospace Science and Technology Park last year. Baykar had previously unveiled Kemankeş as a winged loitering munition under the name “KAGEM”. Later, during TEKNOFEST 2023 (Aviation, Space, and Technology Festival) at Istanbul Atatürk Airport, this munition was showcased under the name “Kemankeş” in the mini smart cruise missile category. For these and similar reasons, KEMANKEŞ 2 may be a modified version of the KaGeM V3 munition developed by Baykar jointly with Pakistan, or even the KaGEM V3 munition itself under a different name.