Air system · Long-Range Loitering Munition
Sivrisinek
Expendable Precision Strike / Cooperative Flight
Also known as: SİVRİSİNEK / Sivrisinek-UM / Sivrisinek-UMX / Baykar Mosquito
Sivrisinek overview
Last reviewed:
Sivrisinek, Turkish for mosquito, is Baykar's smaller fixed-wing loitering-munition system, publicly demonstrated alongside the much larger K2 in 2026. Baykar offers UM and UMX configurations intended to combine a long flight distance with rapid deployment from a catapult. It is neither a TB2 variant nor a renamed K2. The design is an expendable strike aircraft, and the current manufacturer page explicitly describes a runway-independent launch arrangement. The small undercarriage drawn in the supplied concept image should not override that published description.
The current product listing gives a 3.2 m wingspan, 3.8 m length and 0.8 m height, powered by an internal-combustion engine. UM is listed at 76 kg maximum takeoff weight, 1,000 km operational range and more than nine hours endurance; UMX at 78 kg, 900 km and more than eight hours. Both are listed with a 20 kg payload, 55 KIAS cruise speed and 70 KIAS maximum speed, approximately 102 and 130 km/h. The service ceiling is 10,000 ft. Each figure is manufacturer-provided, and the UM range must not be paired with UMX sensor equipment as though both describe one tested configuration.
The UMX listing adds an AI-assisted electro-optical camera and electro-optical terminal guidance, while the basic UM configuration lists GNSS terminal guidance. Baykar also advertises visual navigation, sensor fusion and an optional anti-jamming system. Communications may use TB2, TB3 or Akıncı aircraft as relays. The product page's 10+ km UM and 80+ km UMX communications figures are much shorter than the advertised flight ranges. They should be understood as different system characteristics, not as conflicting estimates of the same combat radius or a promise of continuous video over the entire route.
On April 17, 2026, ten Sivrisinek aircraft took part in a mixed demonstration with five K2s and three larger Baykar UAVs. Baykar's April 24 account describes coordinated formations, visual navigation without satellite positioning, target detection and dives toward designated coordinates. It also announced a planned public appearance at SAHA 2026 in May. This is manufacturer-documented test activity; it is not proof of a fully autonomous combat swarm defeating an operational air-defense network. The size of the demonstration and the specific functions described should remain separate from claims about routine field capability.
Sivrisinek illustrates an important trade-off within the loitering-munition category. A small payload and piston propulsion can support a longer advertised flight duration than many battery-powered tactical systems, but they do not automatically provide survivability in contested airspace. Catapult launch can reduce runway dependence while adding its own support equipment. Visual-navigation and terminal-sensor claims depend on conditions, software and configuration, none of which are fully captured by a simple range or speed table.
A May public-exhibition account discussed Baykar's newer loitering-munition portfolio, while later industry coverage also described cooperation with Pakistan's National Aerospace Science and Technology Park. The core specifications used here remain Baykar's own current UM/UMX listing; an industrial collaboration should not be equated with a confirmed Pakistani operational order. As of October 24, the reviewed record establishes a flight-demonstrated and marketed system. It does not establish a disclosed production fleet, export deliveries, combat use or independent validation of every autonomy and performance claim.
Armament
Advertised 20 kg warhead; UM lists GNSS terminal guidance, UMX adds EO terminal guidance
Development and operational timeline
- Ten Sivrisinek aircraft participate in Baykar's mixed demonstration alongside five K2s, TB2, TB3 and Akıncı
- Baykar publishes the demonstration account and announces a planned public presentation at SAHA 2026 on May 5–9
- Subsequent industry coverage records the public presentation of Baykar's new loitering-munition portfolio at SAHA 2026
- Global Defence Technology discusses Sivrisinek within Baykar's new portfolio and reports Pakistani industrial cooperation; this is not a confirmed delivery
- Editorial specification review: UM and UMX have different masses, range, endurance and terminal-guidance fits; no operational fleet or combat record verified in the reviewed sources