Türkiye's domestic armed drone Bayraktar TB2 sets a milestone in history of Turkish aviation

The Bayraktar TB2 UAV System, which has set milestones in Turkish aviation history, has successfully completed 750,000 flight hours. Thus, the Bayraktar TB2 UAV has become the first domestically produced aerial vehicle with the longest operational service, approaching a million hours in the sky. Developed by Baykar, the company that produces Turkey's national UAV systems, the Bayraktar TB2 is considered the best in its class globally when its technical specifications and participation in operations are evaluated. It entered the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in 2014, was armed in 2015, and is currently operational with the TSK, Gendarmerie General Command, General Directorate of Security, and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). Since 2014, the Bayraktar TB2 UAV has been actively involved in counter-terrorism operations both domestically and across borders. The Bayraktar TB2 UAVs are actively used by the Ukrainian Army for defense purposes in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Public campaigns were organized in Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland, Latvia, Norway, Spain, and Canada to purchase and donate Bayraktar TB2s to the Ukrainian Army. Baykar, instead of accepting the donations collected through campaigns held in Lithuania, Ukraine, and Poland, donated the funds raised to meet the humanitarian needs of the Ukrainian people. Baykar, with its team of Turkish engineers, has been at the forefront of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) field, developing software and hardware systems with the highest added value since the early 2000s. With engineering expertise in 13 different disciplines, Baykar is considered one of the world's leading technology companies in the field. The Bayraktar TB2 UAVs, with all critical components, designs, and software developed nationally and originally by Baykar, are produced at the Özdemir Bayraktar National Technology Center in Istanbul with an impressive 93% domestic industrial participation. On July 16, 2019, the Bayraktar TB2 set a record by flying for 27 hours and 3 minutes continuously under challenging geographical and climatic conditions, including high temperatures and a sandstorm, during a demonstration flight in Kuwait. The national UAVs continue to operate in various regions worldwide, facing adverse weather conditions such as desert heat, freezing cold, snow, and storms. The Bayraktar TB2 UAV, with a tactical class endurance of 27 hours and 3 minutes in the air, and a record altitude of 27,030 feet, has now made history in Turkish aviation with 750,000 hours of flight. It also holds the title of the air vehicle serving Turkey for the longest time successfully. The Bayraktar TB2, actively participated in operations such as the Hendek, Operation Euphrates Shield, and Operation Olive Branch carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces inside and outside the border, played a crucial role in ending operations much faster than expected and minimizing losses, according to defense experts. Especially during the Olive Branch Operation in Afrin, the Bayraktar TB2 UAVs, conducting more than 90% of all flights, left a significant mark on the operation with 5,300 hours of flight. Operating in many counter-terrorism operations, such as operations against the separatist terrorist organization in operations like Claw and Claw-Lightning, the Bayraktar TB2 UAVs continue to play an important role in operations targeting the so-called leaders of the terrorist organization. In addition to these tasks, the national UAVs also contribute to the defense of the Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan), providing aerial support for the security of our drilling ships in the Eastern Mediterranean. For missions related to the Blue Homeland, on December 16, 2019, the Bayraktar TB2 UAV, which took off from the Dalaman Sea Air Base Command, landed at Geçitkale Airport in Northern Cyprus. The Bayraktar TB2 UAVs have played a significant role in earthquake response efforts, providing great assistance. After the earthquake centered in Sivrice, Elazığ, on January 24, 2020, the UAVs quickly arrived at the scene, transmitting real-time images and information to crisis command centers in Ankara and the earthquake-affected provinces from the 25th minute onwards. In the earthquakes of February 6, 2023, known as the Disaster of the Century, the UAVs flew for 2,417 hours and 6 minutes, participating in the mission. A total of 42 Bayraktar TB2s, including 8 equipped with the Baykar Fast Mapping Pod, took part in these earthquake-related missions. In addition to providing support from the sky for search and rescue efforts, the Bayraktar TB2 UAVs also contributed to controlling the intense vehicle traffic after earthquakes and ensuring the continuity of future aid. The Bayraktar TB2 UAVs, monitoring irregular migration movements from the sky in the Aegean and Mediterranean, have made significant contributions to saving the lives of many irregular migrants and documenting human rights violations such as pushbacks, which have been on the world's agenda. The Bayraktar TB2 UAVs are also actively involved in search and rescue operations in nature. On December 31, 2021, they played a role in finding Yusuf Sepehizade, a Danish national who went for a walk on Mount Uludağ in Bursa and got lost as weather conditions worsened. Unable to reach the Danish tourist due to worsening weather conditions, the location was identified by the Bayraktar TB2 UAV owned by the Gendarmerie General Command, taking off from Aydın. After being detected from the sky, the lost tourist was rescued by the teams in the region. In addition to security and humanitarian aid missions, the Bayraktar TB2 UAVs also play a crucial role in combating forest fires. In cooperation with the General Directorate of Forestry (OGM), Bayraktar TB2 UAVs have been actively involved in the efficient management of early detection and extinguishing efforts of forest fires since 2020. From 2020 to the present, a total of 3,166 forest fires have been detected by the Bayraktar TB2 UAVs. Thanks to the high-tech UAVs, forest fire fighting using UAVs started in Europe for the first time. The innovative solution adopted by Turkey in the fight against forest fires has continued to grow from 2020 to the present. Bayraktar TB2 UAVs, stationed at centers designated by OGM, operate under the coordination of Baykar's expert team. With the software developed by Baykar and the technological infrastructure it has established, the Bayraktar TB2 UAVs can scan an area of 400 km with a thermal camera in a single mission and detect fires up to 185 kilometers away at the initial stage. The Bayraktar TB2 UAVs, detecting 345 fires in 2020, 267 in 2021, 1,109 in 2022, and 1,445 in 2023, played an active role in the initial detection of forest fires, reducing the response time to forest fires in our country from 45 minutes to as low as 11 minutes. The Bayraktar TB2 UAVs made a significant contribution to the success of the Peace Spring Operation by significantly increasing the reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities of the Turkish Armed Forces. During the Spring Shield Operation, the UAVs, flying in fleets for the first time, successfully destroyed many armored vehicles, howitzers, Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), and air defense systems. The Bayraktar TB2 UAV, participating as the primary element in the Spring Shield Operation, where UAVs were used as the first element in the combat field for the first time in the world's combat history, carried out 80% of all sorties performed by the participating UAVs. Despite all electronic warfare efforts, the Bayraktar TB2 UAVs successfully completed more than 2,000 hours of flight during the operation in the Idlib region of Syria. The fact that the Bayraktar TB2 UAVs, flying in fleets for the first time in the world's combat history, were effectively used in the operation attracted great attention in the world media. The Bayraktar TB2 UAVs played a crucial role in ending the approximately 30-year occupation of Karabakh by Azerbaijan, becoming a symbol of hope for the Azerbaijani people. Azerbaijan launched a military operation against the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh on September 27, 2020. Forty-four days after the start of the operation, on November 10, 2020, the Azerbaijani Army ended the Armenian occupation and took control of Nagorno-Karabakh. During the operation against Armenia, the Azerbaijani Army used the Bayraktar TB2 UAVs developed nationally and originally by Baykar on all fronts. According to confirmed studies by defense analysts, many air defense systems, radar systems, tanks, armored vehicles, trucks, ammunition depots, positions, and units belonging to the Armenian Army were destroyed with the Bayraktar TB2 UAVs. The success of the Azerbaijani Army surprised the world, and it was commented by the world media and defense experts that Turkish UAVs changed the history of warfare, becoming a game-changer. With the agreement signed with the Kuwait Ministry of Defense, Baykar started 2023 with a $370 million export contract for the Bayraktar TB2. With the export to Romania, Bayraktar TB2 UAVs entered the inventories of four NATO member countries and two EU member countries. Managing all its projects with its own resources from the beginning, Baykar, starting from the beginning of the UAV R&D process in 2003, obtained 83% of its revenues from exports. According to data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) in 2021 and 2022, Baykar became the export leader in the defense and aviation sector. In 2022, with an export rate of 99.3% in the contracts signed, Baykar achieved $1.2 billion in exports. Export agreements have been signed with 32 countries for the Bayraktar TB2 UAV, 8 countries for the Bayraktar AKINCI UAV, and a total of 33 countries to date.