Baykar ranks among Türkiye's top 10 exporters

Baykar has become one of Türkiye's top 10 exporters, marking the first time in the country's history that a defence and aerospace company has achieved this status, CEO of the company, Haluk Bayraktar has expressed.

"Baykar has led the defence and aerospace sector in exports for the past three years, now ranking among Türkiye's top 10 exporters," Bayraktar said, adding:

"We have undertaken all our projects entirely with our own resources."

The announcement came during the "Champions of Export" awards ceremony hosted by Türkiye Exporters Assembly at the Halic Congress Centre in Istanbul.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also attended the ceremony and presented the award to Bayraktar.

The company has seen significant success, particularly with its advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

Starting with mini UAV

Reflecting on Baykar's journey, Bayraktar noted the company started with the Bayraktar Mini UAV in the early 2000s, investing in research and development for seven years without generating revenue.

"We believed UAVs would revolutionise the battlefield and become future technology. This conviction drove us to work tirelessly," he said.

Baykar's efforts have paid off, growing from modest beginnings to a workforce of 4,500.

"We climbed the ladder step by step, researching, developing, and producing national and original technologies. Our UAVs have changed the world," Bayraktar added.

Contracts with 34 countries

Bayraktar emphasised that all their projects were self-funded.

"Our initial work began with just a drill. Today, we've become a large family, leading in exports with our Bayraktar TB2 UAV. We are now making export agreements for the Bayraktar Akıncı as well, having signed contracts with 34 countries to date," he said.

As the projects developed, it became one of the top 100 defence and aerospace companies globally.