Türkiye to produce 500 Bayraktar TB2 UAVs annually

The number of countries importing the Bayraktar TB2 combat drones manufactured by Turkish company Baykar Makina has reached 24, and the share of export earnings in the total basket of income of the drone manufacturer is 98 per cent.

The announcement came from the Baykar Makina CEO Haluk Bayraktar, who is participating in the TEKNOFEST KARADENIZ aviation, cosmonautics and technology festival in Samsun, Anadolu Agency reports.

"In 2019, again at the TEKNOFEST festival, we presented the Bayraktar Akıncı UAV for the first time. Today, this combat drone is already in service with the Turkish army. The same path - from demonstration to mass production, was previously passed by Bayraktar TB2. Well, today at the festival in Samsun we are exhibiting for the first time an unmanned aircraft - Bayraktar Kızılelma. Türkiye is no longer dependent on others for the development and improvement of unmanned aircraft. We cover our needs ourselves, and simultaneously export technology to other countries," the Baykar Makina CEO said.

Haluk Bayraktar also said that the company has produced more than 400 units of Bayraktar TB2 UAVs and about 20 units of Bayraktar Akıncı so far.

According to him, the enterprise's current production capacity of Bayraktar TB2 is 200 units per year.

"We plan to bring this figure to 500 units of Bayraktar TB2 and 40 units of Bayraktar Akıncı by next year. Investment in production does not stop. We take into account not only the needs of Türkiye but also the growing demand from abroad," he said.