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Beyond just a defense company: Baykar

Baykar, which was founded by Ozdemir Bayraktar, is accepted as the father of the idea of domestic and national UCAVs in Türkiye.

1. resim
15.07.2022

The developer of the most mentioned products of the last period in Türkiye’s defense industry: Baykar

Ozdemir Bayraktar laid the foundations of Baykar and climbed the ranks as a family company. Today, it means more than being a defense industry company in Türkiye. 

Selcuk Bayraktar, who assumed the duty of Chairman of the Board of Directors after the death of Ozdemir Bayraktar, is also the Technology Leader of the company.

The big brother, Haluk Bayraktar, serves as the General Manager. 

At the point where Baykar's adventure began, we do not know whether the company executives imagined the position the company has reached today. 

However, today, it has been confirmed in the international arena that the vision and strategy put forward by Baykar is far ahead of a defense industry company. 

The eco-system created by Baykar is a comprehensive vision that not only produces defense products, but also aims to bring young people and society closer to the field of technology. 

Baykar plays a serious role in raising future generations and creating social awareness with the synergy it creates. 

However, among all these synergies and activities, what makes Baykar different from a defense industry company is the company's export successes and its positive impact on Turkish foreign policy. 

All defense industry companies in the world communicate and establish relations with different states and representatives to market and sell their products.

For example, defense industry companies in the US are known to lobby the US Senate for some arms sales or to try to direct American foreign policy for their own gains. 

We can consider this situation as the normal flow of the arms sector in the world. However, the situation is very different in the vision of Baykar, which has become a world giant. 

Baykar has an approach that does not prioritize the company's financial interests and cares about Türkiye's image.

Selcuk Bayraktar, in a recent interview with the British newspaper The Telegraph, said that the main purpose of producing drones is "not to make a profit, but to develop high-tech aviation elements to make our nation independent and strong.”

Baykar creates space for all Turkish defense industry companies in the future by contributing to the prestige of both itself and Türkiye, instead of generating short-term income.

How so? 

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Türkiye began to pursue a policy of balance. Although there was no positive outcome thanks to this policy, Türkiye managed to bring the parties together in Istanbul and continues to play a role in the extraction of Ukrainian grain at a time when the world is facing the danger of famine. 

Especially in the first months, while there was an understanding in the world public opinion against this attitude of Türkiye, the perception began to change over time. 

The fact that the peace talks in Istanbul did not yield the expected results, Russia's massacre in Bucha, Russia's theft of Ukrainian grain and the fact that it was clear that the war would be prolonged paved the way for the desired perceptions to be carried out against Türkiye.

The fact that Türkiye is the only country in NATO that does not impose sanctions against Russia, Türkiye maintains its relations with Russia, and Türkiye's position on the integration of Sweden and Finland in NATO are abused by anti-Türkiye lobbies that Türkiye is a trojan horse in NATO. 

In fact, these lobbies went one step further and tried to create the perception that Türkiye did not provide any military aid to Ukraine and that it only sold for its money. 

In this process carried out against Türkiye, the steps Baykar took with a natural approach turned the tide. 

Baykar had already played an important role in Türkiye’s Ukraine policy, with Bayraktar TB2 footages released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and Bayraktar songs performed by Ukrainians.

However, this role became even more important with the Bayraktar TB2 campaign for Ukraine launched by the Lithuanian Defense Minister. 

As a result of the campaign, the Bayraktar TB2 UAV that was intended to be taken to Ukraine with the money collected from the civilian population was donated by Baykar to Ukraine free of charge, and the money collected was requested to be spent for the humanitarian needs of the Ukrainian people.

With this statement, the world public heard that Türkiye had donated an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to Ukraine to protect itself. 

Later, in the campaign launched by Ukrainian presenter Sergiy Pritula, the Ukrainian people raised money in record time for the purchase of 3 Bayraktar TB2 for their armed forces. 

In response to this campaign, Baykar donated 3 Bayraktar TB2s to Ukraine, again without receiving any money, and demanded that the donations collected be used for the benefit of the honorable people of Ukraine.

These statements may be considered as Baykar's advertisement by some circles. 

However, this situation does not reflect the reality. 

Bayraktar TB2, produced by Baykar, has been accepted in the world as an unmanned aerial vehicle that proves its operational competence in the battlefields and changes the paradigms of warfare. 

A weapons system that has led Ukraine to such a success vis-à-vis the Russian army needs no advertising. 

Bayraktar’s success in the fields of war is the biggest factor that has enabled him to organize fundraising campaigns in which the country's rulers are included today. 

These decisions taken by Baykar are of course the result of solidarity with Ukraine. And as a result of this solidarity, Türkiye's hand in foreign policy has undoubtedly become stronger.

“We wanted to be a partner in the solidarity of Lithuanians and show an example. In such cases, we cannot think like a company. We try to do our best.”

With this decision of Baykar, a strong ground has been created for the continuation and successful continuation of Türkiye's balance policy between Russia and Ukraine. 

If Baykar had not taken this decision, the arguments of the lobbies working against Türkiye would not have been validated.

Türkiye's position on foreign policy would increasingly be questioned. The sustainability of the balance policy based on delicate balances would become more difficult. After these developments, Baykar's donation of three Bayraktar TB2s to Ukraine was a stabilizer. 

On the one hand, Türkiye did not spoil relations with Russia, and on the other hand, it strengthened its position as a country that helps and supports Ukraine.

The fact that the products developed by Baykar found buyers worldwide introduced the concept of "Bayraktar Diplomacy" into the international relations literature. 

With this concept, Türkiye's sphere of influence and diplomatic gains through the export of Bayraktar TB2s have been confirmed. 

For example, Bayraktar TB2 exports to Poland were not just an UAV export. It was also the introduction of a model of how Russia could be limited without the United States. 

The successes of Baykar's products in Syria, Libya and Karabakh have been of critical importance for Türkiye and Türkiye's foreign policy.

With the products developed by Baykar, Türkiye has gained new, dynamic and hard power tools in foreign policy and has gained an asymmetrical advantage over its competitors. 

In Libya, for example, the Bayraktar TB2s performed better than their Chinese counterparts, paving the way for the UN-backed Libyan government to triumph over Haftar. 

Without the Bayraktar TB2 UAVs, the Libyan intervention would have been much more costly and much more complicated, perhaps it would not have been successful. 

Similarly, in Karabakh, Bayraktar TB2s destroyed the Armenian army and brought victory to Azerbaijan. 

Karabakh was recorded in the literature as "the first war won with drones”.

Of course, other defense industry companies have also contributed to Türkiye's hard power in foreign policy with the products they have developed. 

However, thanks to its high-tech development activities and export successes, Baykar is able to communicate with the world at a very different level and contributes to Türkiye's foreign policy. 

Baykar, like any private company, has shown the world that it does not only consider its own financial interests, but also the interests of Türkiye as a whole through its concrete actions.