A FIRST IN TURKISH AVIATION HISTORY!

Bayraktar TB2, Türkiye’s first original indigenous UCAV, has become the first Turkish aircraft to surpass 1 million flight hours. Adding yet another milestone to its record-breaking achievements, the indigenous UCAV has once again made its mark on Turkish aviation history by setting an extraordinary benchmark.

Istanbul
December 10, 2024

Breaking new ground in Turkish aviation history, the Bayraktar TB2 UCAV has successfully surpassed 1 million flight hours, marking a significant milestone. Having entered service in 2014, the Bayraktar TB2 has become the first and only indigenous combat aircraft to exceed 1 million hours in the skies over the past decade, solidifying its status as the longest-serving national air platform.

CIRCLED THE EARTH 3,742 TIMES
Surpassing its American, Israeli, and Chinese competitors, Baykar, the world’s largest UAV company, has propelled Türkiye to a position commanding 65% of the global UAV market through its remarkable export success. Playing a key role in this achievement, Bayraktar TB2 UAVs have logged 1 million flight hours, covering approximately 150 million kilometers in the skies. This distance is equivalent to circling the Earth's 40,075-kilometer circumference an astounding 3,742 times during their extensive journeys.

ELEVATED TÜRKIYE TO GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
With the success of the indigenous Bayraktar TB2 UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) in conflict zones such as Libya, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Ukraine, Türkiye has emerged as a global leader in the UAV market. As of 2021, Türkiye surpassed the United States, Israel, and China to become the world's largest exporter of armed UAVs. The Bayraktar TB2 has become the choice of numerous countries worldwide, thanks to its advanced technology, affordability, swift delivery, and proven effectiveness in the field. According to a report by the U.S.-based think tank CNAS (Center for a New American Security), Türkiye achieved remarkable success by accounting for 65% of global armed UAV exports. Türkiye’s innovative production approach has strengthened its position as a leading actor not only in the military domain but also in strategic diplomacy and international security dynamics.

EXPORT CHAMPION
Since its establishment, Baykar has been running all its projects with its own resources, and since the inception of the UCAV R&D process in 2003, it has obtained 83% of all its revenues from exports. In 2023, Baykar achieved $1.8 billion in exports, placing it among the top 10 firms with the highest exports across all sectors in our country. Awarded the Export Champions Award, Baykar became the export leader in the defense and aerospace sectors in 2021, 2022, and 2023, according to data from the Defense Industry Agency (SSB) and the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM). In recent years, Baykar has obtained over 90% of its revenues from exports, and in 2023, it alone accounted for one-third of the defense and aerospace sector's exports. Currently, 97.5% of the contracts signed by Baykar, the world's largest unmanned aerial vehicle company, are derived from exports. Export agreements have been signed with a total of 35 countries, including 34 countries for the Bayraktar TB2 UCAV and 10 countries for the Bayraktar AKINCI UCAV.

IN THE SKIES OF NATO AND EU COUNTRIES
Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs are entering the inventories of countries around the world following competitive processes in many locations globally. In 2023, the Bayraktar TB2 UCAV emerged as the winner in the competitive process conducted by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense. During the demo activities, the Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs outperformed their American, European, and Chinese competitors to secure the win. Consequently, Baykar signed a significant export contract with the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense. Furthermore, the regions where indigenous UCAVs operate continue to increase. As a result of the agreement signed in Zagreb on November 19, 2024, with the export to Croatia, the Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs entered the inventories of 6 NATO member countries and 4 EU member countries as of November 2024.

ENTERED TÜRKIYE’S INVENTORY IN 2014
The Bayraktar TB2, which Baykar, the producer of Türkiye’s indigenous UCAV systems, developed indigenously and originally, is widely considered the top name in its own class in terms of its technical specifications and its long history of operational use. The aircraft, which entered the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) inventory in 2014, becoming weaponized the following year, continues to be used by TSK, the Gendarmerie General Command, the Turkish National Police, and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT). The Bayraktar TB2 UCAV has been actively contributing to the fight against terror at home and abroad since 2014.

A NEW FIRST: AUTONOMOUS BARREL ROLL
On May 31, 2024, the Bayraktar TB2 made its mark in aviation history once again by executing an autonomous barrel roll maneuver. This maneuver involved tracing a spiral trajectory and completing a full rotation around its own axis. The Bayraktar TB2 UCAV attempted the autonomous barrel roll, one of the most critical evasive maneuvers for fighter jets, a total of three times and successfully completed all these attempts. As the first and only UCAV in the world capable of successfully performing this maneuver, the Bayraktar TB2 has demonstrated the advanced nature of its autonomy and aerodynamic capabilities.

RECORD LOCALIZATION RATE
Baykar, which has been developing indigenous and original software and hardware systems in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles with its team of Turkish engineers since the early 2000s, is widely considered one of the world’s leading technology companies thanks to its considerable strength across 15 engineering disciplines. The Bayraktar TB2 UCAV, whose critical equipment, design and software are developed indigenously and originally by Baykar, continues to be built at the Ozdemir Bayraktar National Technology Center in Istanbul with the local industry’s record level of participation – 93 percent.

HOLDER OF RECORDS
On July 16, 2019, during a demo flight in Kuwait, the Bayraktar TB2 UCAV broke the record by flying continuously for exactly 27 hours and 3 minutes under challenging geographic and climatic conditions such as high temperatures and sandstorms. Indigenous UCAVs continue to operate in all adverse weather conditions encountered across various regions of the world, from Europe to Africa, including desert heat, freezing cold, snow, and storms. In Turkish aviation history, by remaining in the air for 27 hours and 3 minutes in the tactical class and breaking Türkiye's altitude record at 27,030 feet, the indigenous UCAV has entered Turkish aviation history with a difficult-to-achieve record, surpassing 1 million flight hours. The indigenous UCAV also holds the title of the longest-serving aircraft successfully serving Türkiye.

MADE ITS MARK ON OPERATION OLIVE BRANCH
The indigenous UCAV Bayraktar TB2 actively participated in the Trench, Euphrates Shield, and Olive Branch operations conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces both domestically and beyond. Defense experts stated that one of the most important factors in the operations ending much sooner than expected and experiencing fewer losses was the indigenous UCAVs. The Bayraktar TB2 UCAV systems, especially within the scope of the Olive Branch Operation conducted in Afrin, carried out over 90% of all its flights, effectively stamping its mark on the operation with 5,300 flight hours.

WATCHING OVER BLUE HOMELAND
The indigenous UCAV Bayraktar TB2, which has participated in numerous operations against terrorist organizations such as Claw and Sabre, continues to play an important role in operations targeting the so-called leaders of the splinter terrorist organization. In addition to these missions, the indigenous UCAVs are also tasked with protecting the Blue Homeland. In this context, they provided aerial escort for Turkish exploration ships operating in the Eastern Mediterranean for security. Additionally, for missions within the same scope, the Bayraktar TB2 UCAV that took off from Dalaman Naval Air Base on December 16, 2019, and landed at Geçitkale Airport in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus completed a historic flight.

EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE
The indigenous UCAV Bayraktar TB2 is significantly contributing to earthquake response efforts. Following the 6.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Elazığ Sivrice on January 24, 2020, the Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs rapidly deployed to the region and began transmitting real-time images and information to the crisis command centers in Ankara and the affected provinces starting from the 25th minute. During the February 6, 2023 earthquakes, termed the "Disaster of the Century," they completed their missions by flying for a total of 2,417 hours and 6 minutes. In this context, a total of 42 Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs were deployed, 8 of which were integrated with the Baykar Rapid Mapping Pod. In addition to providing aerial support for search and rescue operations, the Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs were tasked with controlling the heavy vehicular traffic that ensued after the earthquake and ensuring that aid was delivered without interruption.

PLAYING AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN RESCUING MIGRANTS
Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs significantly contribute to saving the lives of many irregular migrants by monitoring ongoing irregular migration movements in the Aegean and Mediterranean skies. Additionally, they play an important role in documenting human rights violations, such as pushbacks, which remain on the global agenda.

FOUND THE TOURIST MISSING IN ULUDAĞ
The indigenous UCAV Bayraktar TB2 is also actively involved in search and rescue operations conducted in nature. It played a role in locating Yusuf Sepehizade, a Danish national who went missing on December 31, 2021, while hiking in Bursa's Uludağ due to worsening weather conditions. The location of the Danish tourist, who could not be reached by local teams due to deteriorating weather, was detected by a Bayraktar TB2 UCAV belonging to the General Command of the Gendarmerie, which took off from Aydın. After the missing tourist's location was identified from the sky, he was rescued by local teams.

DETECTING FOREST FIRES
The indigenous UCAV Bayraktar TB2 plays a significant role in combating forest fires, in addition to its security and humanitarian aid missions. In cooperation with the General Directorate of Forestry (OGM), the Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs have been effectively involved since 2020 in the early detection of forest fires and the efficient management of extinguishing efforts. From 2020 to date, a total of 4,091 forest fires have been detected by the Bayraktar TB2. Consequently, high-tech UCAVs have been utilized in fighting forest fires in Europe for the first time.

Türkiye's pioneering and innovative solution in combating forest fires has continued to grow from 2020 to the present. The Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs, deployed at centers determined by OGM, operate under the coordination of Baykar’s expert team. Equipped with the advanced software and technological infrastructure established by Baykar at OGM’s fire management center in Ankara, the Bayraktar TB2s can scan an area of 400 km² in a single pass using thermal cameras and detect fires up to approximately 185 kilometers away in their initial stages.

The Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs have effectively played a role in extinguishing forest fires by detecting 345 in 2020, 267 in 2021, 1,109 in 2022, 1,445 in 2023, and 924 in 2024 at the first instance. As a result, the intervention time for forest fires in our country has decreased from 45 minutes to 11 minutes.

INSPIRED THE WORLD
The indigenous UCAV Bayraktar TB2, which significantly enhanced the reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities of the Turkish Armed Forces in the Peace Spring Operation, also successfully destroyed numerous targets throughout the operation. In the Spring Shield Operation, the Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs flew in squadrons for the first time, destroying numerous armored vehicles, howitzers, Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), and air defense systems. During the Spring Shield Operation, where UCAVs were used as a primary element on the battlefield for the first time in the world, the Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs carried out 80% of all sorties performed by the participating aircraft. In the operation conducted in Syria’s Idlib region, despite all types of electronic warfare, the Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs successfully completed over 2,000 flight hours. The effective role of the Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs in combat by flying in squadrons for the first time in world combat history created a significant impact in the global press.

PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE LIBERATION OF KARABAKH
The indigenous UCAV Bayraktar TB2 played a significant role in ending the nearly 30-year occupation of Karabakh by the brotherly nation Azerbaijan. On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan launched a military operation against the Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh. Forty-four days after the start of the operation, on November 10, 2020, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces ended Armenia's occupation and took control of Nagorno-Karabakh.
During the operation against Armenia, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces utilized the Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs, which were developed indigenously and originally by Baykar, across all fronts. According to studies confirmed by defense analysts, the Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs destroyed numerous air defense systems, radar systems, tanks, armored vehicles, trucks, ammunition depots, positions, and units belonging to the Armenian Armed Forces.
This remarkable achievement of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces astonished the world, and defense experts and global media commented that Turkish UCAVs have changed the history of warfare and have become a game-changing force.

THE NAME "BAYRAKTAR" GIVEN TO CHILDREN IN UKRAINE
In the Ukraine-Russia war that began in February 2022, the Bayraktar TB2 UCAV became a hero in the eyes of the Ukrainian people through its outstanding success. It changed the balance of power as a force multiplier in the war. A "Bayraktar Radio" was launched in honor of the armed unmanned aerial vehicle for which marches were composed and toys were made in its name. Even newborn boys were named "Bayraktar." In Ukraine, the Bayraktar TB2 has not only been effective in combat but has also become a symbol of hope. This success in Ukraine has demonstrated the influence of the Bayraktar TB2 and shown the world that it is the best in its class.

FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGNS IN 7 COUNTRIES
To purchase and donate Bayraktar TB2s to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, public fundraising campaigns were organized in Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland, Latvia, Norway, Spain, and Canada. Baykar declined the donations collected from campaigns in Lithuania, Ukraine, and Poland, redirecting the funds intended for purchasing Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs to meet the humanitarian needs of the Ukrainian people.