Burkina Faso awards highest state medal to Baykar's CEO

The chief executive officer of Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar has been awarded a state medal in Burkina Faso, where the company's Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been exported.

On Tuesday, Haluk Bayraktar received the Ordre de L'etalon Officier medal, the country's highest national honour, by the order of Burkina Faso’s President Ibrahim Traore for his outstanding and exceptional contributions to the West African nation’s peace, security and counter-terrorism activities.

Bayraktar was presented with the medal by Andre Roch Compaore, the country's grand chancellor, at a ceremony held in the capital Ouagadougou.

Bayraktar later met with President Traore, who thanked him for his work.

READ MORE: Tanks, drones, jets: How Türkiye’s defence industry became a global force

The Bayraktar TB2 is Baykar's most well-known and extensively covered system, with a wide range of combat experience from Libya to Karabakh and most recently Ukraine.

According to the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) in 2021, Baykar became the export leader of the defence and aerospace industry.

Baykar, whose export rate was 99.3 percent in the contracts signed in 2022, reported $1.18 billion in revenue.

READ MORE: Türkiye's Baykar to deliver drones to Kuwait in $370 million deal