Almost like Tom Cruise in “Top Gun“ he adjusts his military uniform, sits in the cockpit of an F-16, waves his hand from there and takes off with the fighter jet to escort a combat drone into the sky, writes “Neue Zürcher Zeitung“ (NCZ), telling about the video of Turkish businessman Selçuk Bayraktar on Instagram. His latest invention: Turkey's first armed drone “Küzülelma“ (“Red Apple“). The Swiss publication reminds that Bayraktar has been developing extremely successful combat drones for years, the most famous of which is not only his project, but also bears his name.
Selçuk Bayraktar's family
Literally from the cradle he was nourished with technology, explains the NCC: his mother is an economist and programmer, his father is a mechanical engineer. It was he who founded the company “Baykar“ for the production of automotive parts in the early 1980s. Young Selçuk grew up among machines, and since his father was an amateur pilot, he also discovered his passion for flying. Not long after, he assembled his first models of remote-controlled airplanes - preferring to tinker instead of studying his lessons. After school, he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering in Istanbul, received master's degrees at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received a full scholarship for his achievements. He is most attracted to unmanned aerial vehicles, which he began designing in the family factory in Istanbul while still studying in the United States.
In 2007, Bayraktar returned to the family company. He continued to experiment with his own projects and expanded the drone production sector. The Turkish military, which needed a new drone system, allowed him to test his ideas.
Combat drones lead to the family company's breakthrough
Not long after, the family company was taken over by Selçuk and his brother Haluk, also an engineer. The two turned the mechanical engineering company into a drone production enterprise, in which Haluk was responsible for management and Selçuk for technical management, says the NCC. It is Selçuk who is the innovative figure who developed the drones.
The breakthrough was achieved with the “Bayraktar TV2“ - a combat drone that can carry out reconnaissance missions and drop bombs. It is not as powerful as American or Israeli drones, but it is significantly cheaper and easier to service, explains the Swiss publication. Very soon this model became popular in a number of conflicts - for example, in Libya and Azerbaijan, but it gained real fame at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, where it managed to hit dozens of Russian weapons. The Ukrainians even dedicated a song to it.
Export to many countries
After the Russian air defense adapted its defense strategy, the Turkish drone gradually lost its significance. But the model has already been purchased by over 34 countries, including NATO members such as Poland and Romania. The company has meanwhile developed a new version equipped with a turbo engine and artificial intelligence.
Outside Turkey, “Baykar“ has a factory in Azerbaijan, and two others are being built in Ukraine and Italy, NCC reported. Today, the company is among the leading exporters of drones worldwide; according to its own data, it holds 60% of the market share in military combat drones.
As the Swiss publication notes, the fact that the Turkish arms industry has greatly improved its reputation in recent years is largely due to Selçuk Bayraktar - he is the face of the prosperous industry. The engineer behaves like a man with a mission and tirelessly emphasizes the importance of modern technologies for his country to be independent and strong in the field of security. At the same time, he encourages young Turks to follow his example and get involved in the work of the defense industry with their own ideas.
Relations with Erdogan
The NCC writes that Bayraktar has created a festival, competitions and a foundation to promote technology - exactly in line with the line of Turkish President Erdogan, who has been betting on a sovereign arms and defense policy for years. The relationship between the two is a constant topic of conversation, the Swiss publication points out. Bayraktar is married to Erdogan's youngest daughter - i.e., he has close relations with the government, which is perceived critically. Oppositionists hint at possible benefits for “Bayraktar“ in distributing state orders for drones, but there is no evidence of such a thing.
What is a fact is that the father-in-law and son-in-law publicly demonstrate their closeness and take advantage of each other. They appear together at various technology forums and proclaim their nationalist vision of an independent Turkish arms industry.
Path to politics?
The NCC does not fail to note that for years there has been speculation whether the “drone king“ would follow in his father-in-law's footsteps into politics. When in 2023 the “Wall Street Journal“ asked him if he imagined such a step if Erdogan asked him to do so, he replied: “I would probably say “yes“, but it depends on the circumstances“. The Swiss publication adds that Bayraktar constantly intervenes in political debates: he took Kiev's side in the Russian war against Ukraine; and he described Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip as genocide and donated millions to the people of Gaza.
The NCC writes that after the catastrophic earthquake in February 2023 in southeastern Turkey, Bayraktar made generous donations and financed the construction of over 1,000 homes for the survivors. Forbes magazine has included Bayraktar in the list of billionaires - with a fortune of $1.8 billion. And to complete the portrait - the Swiss publication points out that the billionaire is a devout Muslim who also publishes religious messages on social networks. This further creates an image of an exemplary citizen - and a possible future politician.