Turkey's key export success
The Bayraktar TB2 (Tactical Block 2) is a Turkish-built Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Combat Aerial System (UCAS) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations.
It is manufactured by the Turkish company Baykar Savunma (Baykar Defence), initially for the Turkish Armed Forces. The aircraft is monitored and controlled by an aircrew in the Ground Control Station (GCS), including weapons employment, via a Türksat satellite connection.
The name Bayraktar stems from the founder of Baykar Makina, the late Özdemir Bayraktar that passed away on 18 October. Bayraktar is a common surname in Turkish that means ensign or standard-bearer.
Baykar Defence started to develop a new combat tactical aerial vehicle system on request of the SSB - Savunma Sanayii Başkanlığı (Presidency of Defense Industries), after the experiences of its first tactical Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Bayraktar Çaldıran in 2011. The Bayraktar TB2 conducted its maiden flight in August 2014. On 18 December 2015, a video was published for the missile test of Bayraktar TB2 as collaboration result with ROKETSAN.
The Bayraktar TB2S has become a key export success for Turkey and its Defence Industry. In September 2021, Baykar's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Selçuk Bayraktar stated that new export agreements were signed with a large number of countries for the export of Bayraktar TB2. Baykar Defence currently generates more than 83 percent of its revenues from exports.
Scramble Magazine has knowledge of the following users within the Turkish Armed Forces and known export customers. Obviously, Turkey is the largest consumer of the product with five internal operators of the UCAS.
In some media outlets, Somalia is also quoted as an export customer but in fact the Somalia-based Bayraktar TB2S’ are forward deployed Turkish Army or Gendarmerie examples that operate under the TURKSOM agreement since November 2021.
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