TUSAŞ shows AYAZ jet-powered kamikaze UAV at Ateş Serbest 2026, with one report of a target strike

TLDR

• Turkish Aerospace (TUSAŞ) displayed its AYAZ jet-powered kamikaze UAV at the Ateş Serbest 2026 exercise near Ankara.¹³
• AYAZ extends Turkey's jet-powered one-way attack family down to a 45 kg, lower-cost airframe.¹²
• Specifications and the serial-production claim remain company-reported, with no verified customer handover.³

Turkish Aerospace's AYAZ, described as the most compact jet-powered member of its kamikaze UAV family, made its first public appearance at the defence-industry display held alongside the Ateş Serbest 2026 exercise, which showed 104 weapon systems and platforms.¹ TURDEF then reported that AYAZ struck a surface target at the exercise, in a TUSAŞ demonstration that also used the ŞİMŞEK-K and SÜPER ŞİMŞEK jet-powered UAVs in kamikaze configuration.² Defence Agenda, whose article is based on SavunmaSanayiST reporting dated 13 October, says that piece documents the display and not a live strike, so the strike claim currently rests on TURDEF.²³

Reported figures are a length of 1.6 m, a wingspan of 1.9 m, a maximum take-off weight of 45 kg, a payload of up to 6.5 kg, a service ceiling of 30,000 ft, a maximum speed of 350 km/h and endurance above 100 minutes.¹ Range has been revised up from an initial 200 km estimate to over 300 km.¹ Defense Diary lists an infrared camera on a three-axis gimbal and guided attacks on air and ground targets, while TURDEF says AYAZ combines GNSS/INS guidance with an IR camera, can be launched singly or as a swarm, and can be used against air targets as well as lightly protected surface targets.¹² Launch options reported include standard launchers, rocket-assisted take-off and multi-shot configurations, with a controlled parachute landing after a mission.¹

TURDEF positions AYAZ as a complement to the earlier kamikaze-convertible UAVs rather than a successor: a considerably lighter platform that is easier to produce, for targets where the larger ŞİMŞEK-K and SÜPER ŞİMŞEK would be overkill.² Defense Diary reports that TUSAŞ General Manager Mehmet Demiroğlu said at ADEX 2026 in Azerbaijan on 2 October that launch tests from aircraft, catapults, ramps and RATO had been completed and serial production had begun.¹ Defence Agenda cautions that this is an executive statement as reported by media, and that production start does not identify a buyer or show the weapon is in inventory.³

Why it matters: AYAZ extends Turkey's jet-powered one-way attack family downward to a 45 kg, lower-cost airframe, a class where cost and production rate matter as much as range; until a contract, delivery or acceptance is disclosed, the specifications and serial-production claim stay company-reported.