Will the PAF Buy the Kızılelma? Baykar, Engine Risks, and Pakistan's UCAV Roadmap

Pakistan Air Force Chief ACM Zaheer Babar Sidhu visited Baykar Technologies in Turkey and was photographed with the Bayraktar Kızılelma — a jet-powered unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) that could reshape how the PAF approaches deep strike, loyal wingman operations, and force structure planning.In this episode, Bilal Khan and Arslan Khan go deep on what this visit signals and — more importantly — what comes next. We break down the Kızılelma's capabilities and limitations, compare it with TAI's Anka-3, dig into the Ukrainian engine supply chain problem (AI-25 / AI-322), and explore whether Baykar's Pakistan subsidiary could co-develop a sovereign sensor and datalink stack with NASTP.We also examine the gap nobody is filling: the 2–3 ton attritable UCAV class that the US (MQ-Next, XQ-58 Valkyrie), and potentially NESCOM, are pursuing. Plus — could the Pakistan Navy one day operate its own UCAV-based strike wing?Other topics: Akinci UAV shoot-down in Sudan, Saab's LoyalEye AEW pod on MQ-9B, PFX as a potential unmanned fighter program, and why the PAF's "original solutions" doctrine matters for long-term sovereignty.New episodes weekly. Full articles at quwa.org.