BAKU — Azerbaijan has added Turkey’s SİVRİSİNEK (Mosquito) intelligent loitering munition to its military inventory. Developed by Turkish defense company Baykar, the system has been observed in Azerbaijani Army colors.
Reports indicate that the SİVRİSİNEK has been deployed with the Nakhchivan Separate Combined Arms Army. Nakhchivan is an Azerbaijani exclave separated from the country's mainland by Armenian territory and bordering Turkey and Iran.
1,000-Kilometer Range
The SİVRİSİNEK is designed as a long-endurance, runway-independent loitering munition. Baykar offers the system in two configurations:
- UM: Maximum take-off weight of 76 kg, endurance exceeding 9 hours and an operational range of approximately 1,000 km.
- UMX: Maximum take-off weight of 78 kg, endurance exceeding 8 hours and an operational range of approximately 900 km. It adds an AI-assisted electro-optical camera.
Both versions have a 3.8-meter-long fuselage, 3.2-meter wingspan and 0.8-meter height. They use an internal-combustion engine driving a two-blade propeller and are launched by catapult, eliminating the need for a runway.
The system carries a 20 kg warhead, operates at an altitude of about 4,000 feet, has a 10,000-foot service ceiling, cruises at approximately 55 KIAS and has a maximum speed of around 70 KIAS.
AI-Based Swarm Capability
SİVRİSİNEK is designed to operate in coordinated swarms. Multiple units can communicate during flight and share detected targets in real time.
The system also supports AI-based visual navigation when GNSS signals are unavailable or jammed. The UMX variant uses an electro-optical camera for additional guidance and target detection.
The system can operate alongside other Baykar platforms, including the K2, Bayraktar TB2, TB3 and AKINCI. Communication ranges are listed at more than 10 km for the UM and more than 80 km for the UMX.
April 2026 Swarm Test
Baykar first demonstrated SİVRİSİNEK in a swarm flight test on 17 April 2026 at its Flight Training and Test Center in Keşan, in the Edirne region of Turkey.
During the demonstration, 10 SİVRİSİNEK units operated beneath five K2 Kamikaze UAVs. The drones flew in formations including right echelon, line, V and Turan before conducting coordinated dives toward designated coordinates.
Bayraktar TB2, TB3 and AKINCI UAVs monitored the operation from higher altitude. The demonstration showed AI-supported swarm autonomy, coordinated operations and visual navigation without GNSS.
Presented at SAHA 2026
SİVRİSİNEK was publicly introduced at the SAHA 2026 defense exhibition in Istanbul from May 5–9, 2026.
During the exhibition, Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar stated that systems including SİVRİSİNEK would be manufactured jointly at factories in Azerbaijan.
The reported entry of SİVRİSİNEK into Azerbaijani Army service adds another Turkish unmanned system to Azerbaijan's inventory, following the country's earlier use of Bayraktar TB2 drones during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Some reports have also referred to SİVRİSİNEK by its earlier internal designation, YIHA-III.
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