ADEX 2026: Azerbaijani contract for Baykar's Mizrak announced

The Mizrak displayed on the Baykar stand at ADEX. (Janes/Christopher Petrov)

The first contract for the Mizrak one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicle (OWA UAV) developed by Türkiye's Baykar Technologies was announced during the ADEX show held in Baku from 30 September to 2 October.

The Mizrak contract was one of three that Dr Haluk Görgün, the head of Türkiye's Secretariat of Defence Industries, said Azerbaijan had signed with Turkish companies during the show. No further details were released.

Baykar unveiled the Mizrak during the SAHA show held in Istanbul in April. It is similar to the company's Sivrisinek that is already in service in Azerbaijan as it is a fixed-wing type that is powered by a small piston engine driving a pusher propeller. Both types can be launched from a rail or fitted with non-retracting wheeled undercarriage so they can take off and land from an airstrip.

With a maximum take-off weight of 200 kg, the Mizrak is significantly heavier than the 76 kg Sivrisinek-UM and 78 kg Sivrisinek-UMX versions, according to the specifications released by Baykar. Its payload is 40 kg, compared to 20 kg for the Sivrisinek, which can consist of either two 20 kg warheads or just one and a radio-frequency seeker, presumably to lock on to radar signatures.

The Mizrak's range is listed at more than 1,000 km, similar to that of the longer-range Sivrisinek-UM, but it is faster, with a cruise speed of 80 kt (148 km/h) compared to 55 kt. Its communications range for when it is used as a loitering munition that is controlled by an operator on the ground is more than 70 km.