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Baykar becomes<br />
top exporter<br />
in Turkey’s<br />
defense,<br />
aerospace sector<br />
Turkish drone magnate Baykar<br />
outperformed major companies in the<br />
defense and aerospace industry in terms<br />
of sales abroad last year, becoming the<br />
export champion of the sector, according to<br />
official data.<br />
The Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM)<br />
recently announced the top exporters in<br />
the 27 sectors, revealing that the export<br />
titan of the defense and aerospace industry<br />
has changed after many years.<br />
Baykar, developer of the world-renowned<br />
Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial<br />
vehicle (UCAV) and the newer Akıncı stateof-the-art<br />
UCAV, surpassed the exports of<br />
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) which<br />
produces aircraft structures for global<br />
aviation industry companies.<br />
Baykar is constantly increasing its export<br />
income with the contracts it makes.<br />
The company made $664 million in<br />
UCAV exports last year. This amount<br />
corresponded to more than 80% of the<br />
company’s 2021 turnover.<br />
Baykar developed and launched the<br />
Bayraktar Mini UAV, Bayraktar TB2 and<br />
Bayraktar Akıncı UCAVs with its own<br />
research and development (R&D) projects.<br />
All three platforms achieved export success<br />
in addition to being used in Turkey.<br />
The company is currently preparing for<br />
the launch of a vertical takeoff and landing<br />
(VTOL) Bayraktar UCAV and the National<br />
Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle System<br />
(MIUS). The MIUS was named Bayraktar<br />
Kızılelma (“red apple”), referring to an<br />
expression in Turkish mythology that<br />
symbolizes goals, ideas or dreams that are<br />
far away, but are more attractive the further<br />
that distance may be.<br />
Making the first national UAV export in<br />
2012, Baykar signed contracts with 21<br />
countries for the Bayraktar TB2, the battleproven<br />
drone used in Syria, Libya, Karabakh<br />
and Ukraine. An export contract was signed<br />
with three countries for the Bayraktar Akıncı<br />
as well, which was delivered to the Turkish<br />
Armed Forces (TSK) most recently. Within<br />
the scope of the contracts, the Bayraktar<br />
Akıncı and ground systems are expected<br />
to be delivered periodically starting from<br />
2023. Baykar continues to conduct export<br />
negotiations with a number of countries for<br />
the Bayraktar TB2 and Bayraktar Akıncı.<br />
JULY <strong>2022</strong> 84