By Abdulkadir Gunyol
ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye controls 65% of the global unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market, Selcuk Bayraktar, the chairman and chief technology officer of Turkish drone maker Baykar, said Thursday.
Speaking at the “Take Off Istanbul” event, organizing by the leadership of the Technology Team Foundation of Türkiye under the execution of the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Presidential Investment Office, he said Baykar's Bayraktar TB2, the world's most famous combat UAV, flew in 2014, and the Bayraktar AKINCI made its first flight in 2019.
Anadolu is global communication partner of the event.
The AKINCI has already been exported to 10 countries, while the Bayraktar TB2 bears the title of the most-exported UCAV in the world, Bayraktar said.
He said Baykar alone has almost 60% of this market and is currently the world's largest UAV company in large platforms.
“In 2004, Baykar developed Türkiye's first robotic guidance system and the first mini UAV when UAVs were not yet known in the world," he said.
Noting that the Kizilelma, Türkiye's first unmanned combat aircraft, made its first flight one year before the date they had promised in 2022, Bayraktar said that in 2023, the Bayraktar TB3 made its first flight.
"The Bayraktar TB3 became the first combat UAV platform in the world that can take off and land from short-runway ships. The first trials were conducted last month. The Bayraktar TB3 has also started mass production,” he said.
Baykar has been the world's largest drone company for the last three years, he said, adding it is now three times bigger than its closest American rival.
"Baykar has prepared for the races of tomorrow, not yesterday's or today's," he stressed.
- Take Off Istanbul
Take Off Istanbul has gathered international investors, global technology leaders and successful startups from around the world in Istanbul since 2018.
The 7th Take Off Summit hosted investors from 25 countries and technology startups from 23 countries in Istanbul from Wednesday to Thursday.
Startups and corporate companies held one-to-one cooperation meetings for two days at the fair, which increases the country's international cooperation potential considerably.
Having hosted more than 400 mentors, investors and 166 speakers since 2018, Take Off Istanbul offers opportunities for those who want to move their careers forward and find inspiration in the world of entrepreneurship.
*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun