Turkey’s first successful beyond-visual-range (BVR) missile strike by an unmanned fighter jet marks a notable step in Ankara’s push into next-generation air warfare and could give its air deterrence a boost at a volatile time in the Middle East and Black Sea region.

On a sunny Saturday morning last week along Turkey's Black Sea coast, four leading figures from the country's defense industry strapped into F-16s and roared off down the runway. Flying ahead of them was Kizilelma, Turkey's first unmanned fighter jet.

Heading toward the central Black Sea were Selcuk Bayraktar, chairman of Baykar, which manufactures the Kizilelma and the famed Bayraktar drones; Murat Akyol, chief operating officer of ASELSAN, the Turkish electronics and radar giant; Turkish Air Force Commander Gen. Ziya Cemal Kadioglu; and Combatant Air Forces Commander Gen. Rafet Dalkiran.

Minutes later, the four witnessed a landmark moment for Turkey’s military industry. Over the firing area, the Kizilelma locked on to a drone and released a radar-guided BVR missile, successfully hitting its target — a first not only for Turkey, but among military industries worldwide.