TR Baykar - News

[Iskander]

It is also a counterweight in the Mediterranean to France, Greece/Cyprus and Egypt. Neither Spain nor Italy want or tolerate France having or gaining too much power in the Mediterranean through its proxies such as Greece/Cyprus & Egypt. That is why they support Turkey pragmatically, e.g. through armaments cooperation or other Support Projects such as Navantia & Co and Leonardo with Italy in the near future.

Yes, this situation is especially evident today.

Meanwhile, it is also stated that Erdoğan will go to Italy in 2 weeks.

 

[BalkanTurk90]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1907164507748676091

It can happen , the foult is at Mali side , Algeria army is among top 20 most powerfup militaries in world .

 

[TR_123456]

Where is it down recently?

Algerian Armed Forces

defencehub.live

Last post.

 

[TR_123456]

It is also not nice to make enemies of Algeria. They have a competent army, they can shoot down drones easily. They are going to receive Su57 this year. It is a country we should build better relations with.

Whats it got to do with us that you make such a statement?
We have good relations with Algeria.

 

[uçuyorum]

Whats it got to do with us that you make such a statement?
We have good relations with Algeria.

Incidents like this dont help

 

[TR_123456]

Incidents like this dont help

Again,it has nothing to do with us.
What kind of logic do you use,i wonder?
So,Russia blamed us for all the destruction by the TB-2 in Ukraine?
Come on man,you are smarter then this.

 

[Chakib larbi]

Incidents like this dont help

Turkish-Algerian relations are very strong at all levels, and an incident like this has nothing to do with the two countries...Rather, it is a geopolitical dispute between Mali and Algeria...

In the end , Turkey is a manufacturer and seller of weapons, and even Algeria is a buyer of Turkish drones and It is not surprising that she would use them one day against these Malians.

 

[Ryder]

If you sell it to any Tom Dick and Harry to make a quick buck without accompanying EW set up. If you sell it to countries that don't know how to use it properly and if they are used in airspace where modern AD are present, what do you expect?

These are lethargic, cumbersome, slow and comparatively large birds. They are not stealthy. They should be used with stand off ammo. Not pushed in to the heart of fighting, unless you have air dominance in the skies.

They are not that cheap either.
Also they are not replacement of a full fledged fighter jet.
If used in accordance with what it can and can not do, it is a great asset to have. But you should always be aware of it's shortcomings.

Thank you people need realise there is no such thing as a God weapon or a wonder weapon that can beat anything.

Every weapon system has its short comings. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Alot of Western and Russian tank fanboys were in cope mode about the destruction of their favourite tanks.

Nothing is invincible every weapon system has its advantages and disadvantages. They also have their short comings.1 weapon system would be state of the art until its get overtaken or beaten by another. That same one that beaten the system will also get beaten.

 

[Tuvan]

If you sell it to any Tom Dick and Harry to make a quick buck without accompanying EW set up. If you sell it to countries that don't know how to use it properly and if they are used in airspace where modern AD are present, what do you expect?

These are lethargic, cumbersome, slow and comparatively large birds. They are not stealthy. They should be used with stand off ammo. Not pushed in to the heart of fighting, unless you have air dominance in the skies.

They are not that cheap either.
Also they are not replacement of a full fledged fighter jet.
If used in accordance with what it can and can not do, it is a great asset to have. But you should always be aware of it's shortcomings.

There needs to be a R&D unit to actively research potential threats and develops prototypes to test it against active platforms. As an example, we should have had already developed Iranian Missile 358 style missile and tested against TB2, Akinci, T129 and so on. Baykar UAVs are one of the most used in the world thus far more likely to be victim of new threats. It could be PR nightmare if they start getting shot down constantly. OPFOR needs to be taken seriously.

 

[Yasar_TR]

There needs to be a R&D unit to actively research potential threats and develops prototypes to test it against active platforms. As an example, we should have had already developed Iranian Missile 358 style missile and tested against TB2, Akinci, T129 and so on. Baykar UAVs are one of the most used in the world thus far more likely to be victim of new threats. It could be PR nightmare if they start getting shot down constantly. OPFOR needs to be taken seriously.

Bro, no matter how much R&D you perform, an non-stealthy drone like TB2 and Akinci will always be prone to getting shot if they operate too low or in skies where AD systems are not suppressed or eliminated.

All the Hype about TB2 in the early days were thanks to :
1. Anka’s EW experience being applied to it (If you check the first TB2s were being shot easily, when Anka survived)
2. It exploited the weakness of Russian air defence systems as it was too small and too slow for it to be registered as a threat. (Even Temel Kotil uttered these very words in an interview). That is not the case anymore.
3. It was used in conjunction with Koral EW to overcome AD systems that tried to shoot it.

The flir it used to designate target acquisition can not operate above clouds. It needs Synthetic Aperture Radar to do that. Below cloud cover it is vulnerable. It relies on it’s EW capability to survive.

Akıncı is even bigger and is easier to spot. But with it’s 2 x 850HP PT6 engines, it should generate enough lift and power to operate at high enough altitudes to stay away from man pads and short range AD systems, and supply electrical energy to use it’s Aesa radar to target enemy assets from a stand off distance. Using the Aesa radar’s SAR capability to target long distance and below cloud enemy positions. With ground and other aerial communication local assets it should not need to be pushed in to battlefield itself. But nevertheless should be protected by KE or Anka-3.

 

[RMZN]

Bro, no matter how much R&D you perform, an non-stealthy drone like TB2 and Akinci will always be prone to getting shot if they operate too low or in skies where AD systems are not suppressed or eliminated.

All the Hype about TB2 in the early days were thanks to :
1. Anka’s EW experience being applied to it (If you check the first TB2s were being shot easily, when Anka survived)
2. It exploited the weakness of Russian air defence systems as it was too small and too slow for it to be registered as a threat. (Even Temel Kotil uttered these very words in an interview). That is not the case anymore.
3. It was used in conjunction with Koral EW to overcome AD systems that tried to shoot it.

The flir it used to designate target acquisition can not operate above clouds. It needs Synthetic Aperture Radar to do that. Below cloud cover it is vulnerable. It relies on it’s EW capability to survive.

Akıncı is even bigger and is easier to spot. But with it’s 2 x 850HP PT6 engines, it should generate enough lift and power to operate at high enough altitudes to stay away from man pads and short range AD systems, and supply electrical energy to use it’s Aesa radar to target enemy assets from a stand off distance. Using the Aesa radar’s SAR capability to target long distance and below cloud enemy positions. With ground and other aerial communication local assets it should not need to be pushed in to battlefield itself. But nevertheless should be protected by KE or Anka-3.

A countermeasures pod could prove useful for more expensive plattforms like the Akinci though. Kizilelma will need a countermeasures system as well, regardless of how stealthy it is.

 

[Ripley]

Looks like Baykar obtained an induction vacuum furnace from Seco/Warwick.
I understand that its main purpose is
“high-quality casting through methods like directional solidification and single crystal technology”

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1907898788372688921

Was This purchase recently?

 

[mTT]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1908123138317033692

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1907851457363145083

 

[mTT]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1917291124718284840

 

[Saithan]

I wonder if the deal with Italy had anything to do with the refugees. Turkey is paying the bill on refugees and Italy gets a coowner/partner to a stagnating company.

 

[what]

That is very far fetched.

 

[mTT]

Haluk Bayraktar is the CEO of Baykar, an autonomous technology company based in Turkey. He began his tenure at Baykar in 2004 as an engineering manager, when Baykar’s autonomous technology efforts were still nascent, and has been involved in every aspect of the business’s growth into a leading firm in the Turkish defense sector: project management, logistics, and business development. Baykar’s pioneering role in the rise of the Turkish drone industry makes Bayraktar a fascinating and well-informed observer on security and alliance dynamics affecting Turkey, NATO, and the region.

---

Defense Journal by Atlantic Council IN TURKEY (DJ): Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Let’s start with developments of common interest to readers in Turkey, the United States, and Europe. Following the industrial and technology cooperation deal with Italian defense and aerospace group Leonardo, what’s next for Baykar in the Western market?

Bayraktar: Baykar has become the world’s biggest drone maker, with thirty-eight international partners now—from Europe and NATO to the Turkic countries, Africa, and the Middle East. Among NATO allies, we have partnered with Poland, Romania, Kosovo, Croatia, and of course, Turkey’s military, law enforcement, and disaster relief agencies. Turkey is a NATO ally, so all our products and technologies follow the technical standards and military specifications of the West and are entirely compatible with Western systems. The Western market is critical for us.

As for Leonardo, we are on the path to establishing a joint venture (JV). They are a major player in Europe, and their work areas are highly compatible with ours—a lot of synergies and complementarity. We were already working with them, integrating payloads and systems with our products: This has become a very strong bond or marriage. A JV is a great opportunity/potential to bring robust, field-proven systems to a broader market. Baykar has drones all around the world, including tactical and strategic platforms. Leonardo produces critical subsystems with great potential for Europe and broader markets where they have a presence, including South America and elsewhere, but Europe is our main focus. In Europe, there is no other mature alternative to what we have.

DJ: What differentiates your approach to manned technology? What is the key to your value proposition?​

Bayraktar: We are a tech developer but not just tech. It’s about tech but also about ways to use that technology—about operational employment. Our approach centers on reliability, safety, and robustness. Our experience brings lots of feedback from various areas, which makes our products even more robust. So, we combine technology with real-world experience. Our fleet now exceeds 300,000 flight hours per year, so there is a lot to analyze. Our systems offer the highest performance-to-cost across the market. They are the most adaptable with continuous innovation, and they are equipped with the most advanced technology. In the defense sector, there are huge manufacturing capacity challenges everywhere, whereas there has been a great buildup in Turkey in the last twenty-five years. Over just twenty years, we’ve gone from roughly seventy to over 3,000 companies in the sector, with thousands of products. It’s a great ecosystem with important internal synergies. Baykar has established mass production capacity for unmanned systems. Our Istanbul base is the biggest facility of its kind in the world. So, potential customers know we can deliver quickly. We produce 250 Bayraktar TB2 [unmanned combat aerial vehicles] per year, fifty Akinci [high-altitude, long-endurance] UCAVs per year, and we’re ramping up to support larger capacity as the Bayraktar TB3 UCAV and the Kizilelma unmanned fighter jet move from development to production.

DJ: What is your conceptual and defense technological approach to Kizilelma? Do you see it as a loyal wingman to the fifth-generation Kaan fighter or a pathway to replace Kaan in the future?​

Bayraktar: Kaan is a national manned fighter program, funded by the government. Kizilelma is Baykar’s own design and project. It is our final target on the unmanned family of products—a fighter with both subsonic and supersonic capabilities. We do not envision it as a loyal wingman, though it can work as an integrated adjunct in theory, if one were to couple it and use it with manned fighters in risky environments. US President Donald Trump recently introduced the American F-47 as a mothership controlling other fighters, and the consortium developing [the Global Combat Air Program involving Italy, the United Kingdom, and Japan] conceived it in similar fashion. But we envision Kizilelma as operating on its own with a fleet control system. As a company, we don’t develop manned systems. We exclusively invest in drones. That is our focus. Kizilelma is an aircraft with aggressive maneuvering, autonomous operation, and controls that can be flown by few operators. It completed its first flight in 2022, and we see that as a revolution. Bayraktar TB3 has the capability to take off and land on short-runway aircraft carriers. Kizilelma will have this feature too.


Fighter pilots stationed at aircraft carriers have to fly every single day and complete a certain number of sorties annually to stay current. That’s perhaps fifty training flights per day. By contrast, unmanned platforms do not require as much effort or so many daily landings to be certified for carriers. Moreover, Kizilelma will integrate artificial intelligence to assist with delegation of command and other operational aspects.

DJ: How do you view the F-35 debate in the United States, especially Elon Musk’s view that manned aircraft are not the best path forward?​

Bayraktar: There are about 13,000 manned fighters worldwide right now–Russian, Chinese, US, and other systems combined. We believe that all those platforms will eventually be converted to unmanned systems, even though one cannot prove that point just yet. But when you look at the field, it’s clearly headed in that direction. To be clear, they may not be replaced one for one. It may be more like three to five unmanned platforms to replace each manned fighter. Unmanned systems will be everywhere, and it will be a crowded airspace—not just unmanned fighters but smaller first-person view drones and loitering munitions. They will be everywhere, and every country will need the ability to build and use these things. For nations to defend themselves in this century, this is a necessary capability—much like the ability to produce bullets.

DJ: Turkey has shown great agility in what has been termed “drone diplomacy,” or complementing regional policy initiatives with defense sales. What is the nature of public/private partnership in Turkish drone diplomacy?​

Bayraktar: Overall, the major players in the Turkish defense ecosystem are still government-owned institutional firms. The private sector is smaller but dynamic and growing. Of course, I think that the private sector’s dynamism is preferable. SAHA is the industry group representing the smaller and midsize firms that comprise most of our private sector, and I am currently serving as the chairman.

Still, the system operates similarly for public and private firms. Anyone wishing to export applies to the Ministry of National Defense, which in turn coordinates with the Foreign Ministry and the intelligence community to issue an export license. It is the government’s decision at the end of the day. The government doesn’t promote private-sector firms per se. The Defense Industry Agency (SSB) has foreign relationships and partnerships, and they generally favor government-affiliated companies. One of the objectives of SAHA has been to help small and medium-sized companies become more visible. Our annual exhibition helps smaller players. Baykar is an example of successful growth: We’ve gone from five employees in 2004 to over 6,000 today. We know how important it is to become more visible, and we support other firms doing that. We try to make it easier for the newcomers. That is my responsibility as SAHA chairman.

My view is that European countries are better at using governmental influence to promote national commercial products. Baykar’s products promote themselves through their unique utility as well as aggressive marketing and social media presence. The Turkish government doesn’t subsidize sales, although other countries may. But we don’t rely on public credit or government grants. This is unique to Baykar: We’ve developed an unmanned fighter with the company’s own money. At the end of the day, since companies are required to receive a permit to export, the government plays an important role. The higher levels [of government officials] do talk about it and the firms need approval. The government spending environment matters greatly for domestic firms, too. And while Turkey spent 4.5 percent of its [gross domestic product] on defense before 2000, that number has remained close to 2 percent for two decades now. It was just in the last two years that it approached 3 percent.

The bottom line is that drone diplomacy is a reality and the Bayraktar TB2, in particular, has proven that. But the government doesn’t lead: market demand leads, the company follows, and the government supports.

DJ: Can you talk a little bit about the price/performance balance for Baykar systems?​

Bayraktar: The Bayraktar TB2 is a very good example for price/performance balance. The initial purchase price or acquisition cost is one factor, but the life cycle, including maintenance and durability, has to be considered as well because reliability affects long-term costs. Let’s say you procure an alternative to Bayraktar TB2 for half the price. In reality, this is not an advantage if this “alternative” has double the crash rate. So, Bayraktar TB2 has a reliability advantage because you don’t face as many crashes and the cost consideration changes.

Unmanned systems represent a new niche in the defense ecosystem. Aerospace is conservative, especially for manned systems: extensive certifications and regulations serve to protect human life. But unmanned [aerial] vehicles are a different paradigm—you can add new sensors, new technology, and new operational approaches rapidly. An example is the fact that manned systems still use mechanical gyros, whereas the technologically advanced UAVs are currently using even cheaper MEMS [i.e., microelectromechanical system) sensors, fiber-optic alternatives with high-end software systems. You can easily innovate in the unmanned realm with the latest technology, whereas you need to be conservative in the manned domain because you need to make sure that each new step complies with the certification and safety standards of manned aviation. You can qualify unmanned systems with very high-end software—even AI software—and hardware much more quickly.

Baykar has a price advantage because we are vertically integrated. We have strong in-house avionics, power systems, and ground element design. This allows us to tailor critical subsystems and enable attractive pricing with high-end capability. The TB2, with a six-unit ground system and everything, still costs less than a manned platform. Our TB2 fleet recently passed the one-million-hour milestone, so our operating cost is just several hundred dollars per hour—compared to a minimum of $20,000 per hour for a single manned F-16. When you can mass produce, availability and reliability turn into a potent combination. Additionally, customers benefit from the rapid in-service schedule compared to a manned system. A country can field a full UAV system with trained people within a year, providing a very quick and affordable defense capability compared to a manned system, which is a multiyear exercise.

DJ: You mentioned thirty-eight international partners earlier. Ukraine was one of your earliest: Have you been able to apply lessons from that partnership with newer programs, such as those with the Gulf countries?​

Bayraktar: Ukraine was Baykar’s first export customer. Our cooperation with Ukraine opened up the strategic level of cooperation for us. We had been working with them since 2011, but things moved rapidly after 2014. In 2014, no one else would sell them armed drones. We didn’t yet have a mature system, but we agreed to help. They were in need, huge need, and searching. That was more than ten years ago. They couldn’t get what they wanted elsewhere either, so they came to Turkey. President Erdoğan’s leadership mattered at that point, as he considered Ukraine a neighbor and friend in need. With the government’s support, we supplied armed drones starting in 2019—the order was placed in 2018. They were very happy and this was very important. President Zelensky visited in August 2019 after taking office. At his request, we agreed to build a factory in Ukraine. He acquired more systems, and we discussed an offset-type obligation. I told them: “You have very good engines. Maybe we can figure out a way to use your engines on our platforms.” So, we created effective cooperation with Motor Sich and others. In a sense, Turkey and Ukraine are complementary countries. When the war escalated in 2022, we did our best to support Ukraine. You may remember the European crowd-sourcing campaigns for Europeans to buy TB2s on Ukraine’s behalf, but we never accepted the money. We donated the platforms, giving up over $110 million in income that we chose not to generate. We are not war profiteers. We delivered all Bayraktar TB2s free of charge as part of those campaigns and the campaign funds were used for humanitarian aid and other pressing needs to support Ukraine.

Q&A with Haluk Bayraktar

The CEO of Baykar discusses his company's pioneering role in the drone industry.

www.atlanticcouncil.org

 

[what]

Good interview, of course he's throwing some shade at the government owned companies but overall I prefer him speaking over Selcuk.

 

[mTT]

@Iskander @Azeri441

 

[mTT]

General Luciano Portolano, Chief of the Italian General Staff, and his delegation visited the Özdemir Bayraktar National Technology Center. It was a pleasure to host them.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1934960286575759836