SAHA 2026: Baykar unveils Sivrisinek one-way attack UAV

Baykar's Sivrisinek (Mosquito) one-way attack UAV on display at SAHA 2026. (Janes/Tristan Sauer)

Turkish company Baykar officially unveiled its Sivrisinek one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the SAHA (Defense, Aerospace, and Space Cluster Association: Savunma Havacılık Uzay) exhibition in Istanbul from 5-9 May 2026.

Developed as a joint project between Turkey and Pakistan the Sivrisinek, previously identified as the YIHA III, is designed as a low-cost, catapult-launched, fire-and-forget surface-to-surface OWA UAV.

The platform has a piston engine powered pusher propeller, fixed wheeled undercarriage and gimbaled electro-optical (EO) camera for targeting and guidance. The Sivrisinek is designed to operate at extended range, flying at altitudes of up to 4,000 ft with a service ceiling of 10,000 ft. Both variants have top cruising speeds of 102 km/h, with a maximum speed of 130 km/h likely achieved during the terminal flight phase.

The Sivrisinek is produced in two variants: the UM variant is a simplified, lower-cost variant with communications ranging out to 10km+, a flight time of 9+ hours and a maximum operational range of 1,000km, according to the company.

The UMX is an enhanced variant with AI-enabled guidance and improved data connectivity with command and control (C2) elements. The UMX is designed to relay communications via other Baykar UAVs including the TB2, TB3 and Akıncı. This includes the transmission of video links and digital data, providing a secondary intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability during flight. The UMX variant can maintain communications and engage ‘fire-and-forget' mode at ranges of over 80 km, however its maximum operational range is shorter than the UM variant at 900 km. The UMX has an AI-assisted EO camera, which provides an additional terminal guidance capability on top of the global navigation satellite services (GNSS) guidance employed by the UM variant.