The verified answer
As of Oct 2026, DEPLOY verifies Baykar: 4 models, 11 deployments across 7 regions. 4 sources back the record.
CategoryDrones
Appears inMilitary & defense drones
Overview
Turkish drone maker (Istanbul; family-owned) of the Bayraktar TB2, the most combat-proven armed drone globally (800+ Built, 34+ countries), plus the Akinci HALE UCAV and Kizilelma jet UCAV.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 11 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Key facts
Leadership
Product
Customers
Patents
Significance
Revenue
Exports
R&D investment
Data & sources
Web sources
4
4 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (4)
View all models →Current platform
Bayraktar Kizilelma
Unmanned combat aircraft with serial production beginning August 2025. First BVR air-to-air kill by UAV in November 2025.
Current platform
Bayraktar Akinci
High-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle. Joined Turkish Armed Forces in August 2021. 110 delivered by January 2026.
Previous platform
Bayraktar TB2
Medium-altitude long-endurance tactical armed UAV. 27-hour endurance, precision-guided munitions. Extensive combat use in Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and counter-terrorism operations.
Current platform
Bayraktar TB2
Baykar, a privately held Turkish family firm founded in the 1980s by Ozdemir Bayraktar and led today by chief technology officer Selcuk Bayraktar, who developed the platform, and chief executive Haluk Bayraktar, makes the Bayraktar TB2, the most combat-proven armed drone in the world. The TB2 is a medium-altitude armed uncrewed aircraft with more than twenty hours of endurance, a 150-kilogram payload, and Roketsan laser-guided munitions, flown with triple-redundant flight control that handles autonomous taxi, takeoff, cruise, and landing. More than 800 have been built, accumulating roughly a million flight hours by December 2024, and they have seen combat in Syria, Libya, Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine, and Ethiopia, the deepest verified combat record of any armed drone and the platform's distinguishing registry fact. The company also builds the larger twin-engine Akinci, with 110 delivered by January 2026, and the jet-powered Kizilelma, which has five prototypes and two serial aircraft with a first Turkish Armed Forces delivery expected in the first quarter of 2026, and it reported a 2.2-billion-dollar export record in 2025. Honestly characterized, the TB2 is remotely piloted with autonomous flight functions but a human in the loop for targeting and weapons release, not a fully autonomous AI strike drone, while Kizilelma is being developed toward higher autonomy but remains pre-fielding. The registry records the TB2 and Akinci at production maturity and Kizilelma as an early, pre-fielding sibling, and notes that the export-country count has a thirty-four-versus-twenty-eight discrepancy across sources, that the 250-per-year production figure is an unaudited capacity claim, and that the 2.2-billion-dollar export figure is company and Turkish-media sourced.
Partnerships
Every company Baykar has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Baykar on the deployment map
View the global map11 verified deployments across 7 regions, newest verified Aug 2025. Explore where Baykar's robots are operating, by place and type.
- pilotBayraktar Kizilelma at Çorlu, Tekirdağ, Turkey (Kizilelma) →Middle East · verified Aug 2025
- operationalBayraktar TB2 at Kyiv, Ukraine →Ukraine · verified Jun 2024
- operationalBayraktar TB2 at Kazakhstan →Central Asia · verified Jan 2024
- operationalBayraktar TB2 at Kuwait →Middle East · verified Jan 2023
- operationalBayraktar TB2 at Poland →Central Europe · verified Jan 2022
- operationalBayraktar TB2 at Ethiopia →Africa · verified Oct 2021
- operationalBayraktar Akinci at Çorlu, Tekirdağ, Turkey →Middle East · verified Aug 2021
- operationalBayraktar TB2 at Morocco →Africa · verified Apr 2021
- operationalBayraktar TB2 at Turkmenistan →verified Jan 2021
- operationalBayraktar TB2 at Azerbaijan →verified Sep 2020
- operationalBayraktar TB2 at Turkey →Middle East · verified Jan 2016
View the full Baykar deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (2)
- Selcuk Bayraktar ctosince 2004-01-01secondary-verified
- Haluk Bayraktar ceosince 2004-01-01secondary-verified
Founders (1)
Safety record
No incidents on record for Baykar.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- Baykar11 deployments
Recent coverage
Baykar in third-party press
Airworthiness Directives; Baykar Piaggio Aerospace S.p.A. (Type Certificate Previously Held by Piaggio Aviation S.p.A.) Airplanes
Italy eyes MBDA armaments for new Italo-Turkish drone
Bayraktar TB3 expands naval role with sonobuoy launch and real time underwater data processing from TCG Anadolu
Peers
98 peers across 1 segment. Every Baykar competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
drone(98)
57 companies in this segment · moderately_concentrated (HHI 1809.2177305910177) · leader Anduril Industries at 3057%
- AEVEX Aerospacedirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- ATL Global Holding AGdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Aereodirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AeroVironmentdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AgXeeddirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AirForestrydirect competitor(inferred)moderate
Mentioned on (2)
Registry pages whose text names Baykar.
People (2)
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- growth
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships
4 total · 2 operating · 2 just announced
Every company Baykar has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most recent
All 4 partnerships
open in the atlas →- baykar x microsoftwithMicrosoft351technology—just announced
- baykar x nvidiawithNVIDIA1116technology—just announced
- baykar x SafranwithSafrandevelopment—operating
- baykar x LeonardowithLeonardojoint venture—announcedoperating
Timeline
Every recorded move in Baykar’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Key hireSelcuk Bayraktar joins as cto
2004-01-01Selcuk Bayraktar appointed cto (current)
Key hireHaluk Bayraktar joins as ceo
2004-01-01Haluk Bayraktar appointed ceo (current)
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Verified media addedVerifiedJun 11, 2026
BAYKAR 2015: Bayraktar TB2
- Verified media addedVerifiedJun 5, 2026
Baykar Bayraktar TB2 UCAV
- Record createdJun 3, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedAug 1, 2025
Bayraktar Kizilelma at Çorlu, Tekirdağ, Turkey (Kizilelma)
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJun 1, 2024
Bayraktar TB2 at Kyiv, Ukraine
Sources (4)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baykar_Bayraktar_TB2
- https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-series/ac-turkey-defense-journal/interview-with-haluk-bayraktar/
- https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2026/tuerkiyes-baykar-ramps-up-akinci-combat-drone-production-toward-120-units-by-2026
- https://www.turkiyetoday.com/nation/baykar-sets-22b-export-record-kizilelma-to-enter-inventory-in-2026-3213966
Common questions
What is Baykar?
What does Baykar make?
Is Baykar publicly traded?
Who competes with Baykar?
Who is the CEO of Baykar?
How can I invest in Baykar?
Where is Baykar headquartered?
Who owns Baykar?
Where does Baykar operate robots?
How many robots has Baykar deployed?
Is Baykar a top robotics company?
When was Baykar founded?
Is Baykar safe?
Methodology: Verified · 4 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-21
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Sources by quality tier
- 3
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 1
- knowledge-base
- Knowledge base
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Baykar.Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- DJI9 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- Skydio6 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Earendil Robotics4 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Baykar from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Airworthiness Directives; Baykar Piaggio Aerospace S.p.A. (Type Certificate Previously Held by Piaggio Aviation S.p.A.) Airplanes
The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Baykar Piaggio Aerospace S.p.A. (Piaggio) Model P-180 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report…
Italy eyes MBDA armaments for new Italo-Turkish drone
The Italian air force is due to acquire six of the drones, which are derived from Baykar’s TB-3 and are being assembled in Italy by LBA Systems.
Bayraktar TB3 expands naval role with sonobuoy launch and real time underwater data processing from TCG Anadolu
Baykar’s Bayraktar TB3 unmanned combat aerial vehicle demonstrated an anti submarine warfare capability during the Seawolf I 2026 exercise while operating from TCG Anadolu
Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan army gets Turkish kamikaze drones
Azerbaijan’s army in the Nakhchivan exclave has received Sivrisinek kamikaze drones, the Baykar-built loitering munition also known as YIHA-III, the Azerbaijani defense outlet…
Bayraktar TB3 Drops Sonobuoys from TCG Anadolu in ASW Milestone
Baykar’s carrier-capable unmanned combat aerial vehicle, the Bayraktar TB3, has successfully completed a live sonobuoy deployment test during the Turkish Navy’s Denizkurdu-I/2026…
Turkish combat drone gets a longer-range strike weapon
Turkish drone maker Baykar has fitted its Akıncı unmanned combat aircraft with Roketsan’s new 300-ER air-launched ballistic missile, with a first launch from the drone expected…
Alibaba Selling Fiber Optic Military Drones for $200
Ukraine was saved by Turkish-made Baykar Bayraktar drones and many brave soldiers in the first stages of the conflict. Then hobbyists and their DJI Mavics showed how drones could…
Leonardo CEO says Baykar drone venture begins aircraft integration in Italy, with first customer deliveries due this year
Leonardo and Baykar have begun integrating their first aircraft in Italy after completing the regulatory process for their new drone joint venture.
M-346 Military Jet Leads Baykar UCAV in Autonomous Formation Flight
Leonardo and Baykar test M-346 and KIZILELMA teaming in first live K-SWARM autonomous formation flights
Baykar unveils Mizrak long-range AI kamikaze drone
Baykar demonstrates autonomous swarm with K2 strike drone
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/baykar.md
- RSS feed: /companies/baykar/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/f1366003-2a4b-42c4-a78a-3fa728b7e648
- Revision history: /companies/baykar/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- DJI9 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- Skydio6 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Earendil Robotics4 models
Video
Turkish drone manufacturer BAYKAR, which has made a name for itself with the Bayraktar TB2 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, which is seen as the game changer of the bat
Türkiye’s defense industry continues its rapid rise in unmanned systems. Skydagger, a Baykar-owned company, has reached a production capacity of up to 120,000 F
Mosaic and Stabilization software has been developed in order to increase the imaging quality of mini unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) video footage. Today Mini UA
Baykar Chairman and CTO Selçuk Bayraktar argues that AI-powered combat drones are not simply the next generation of fighter aircraft but “a different species.”
Baykar flew the K2 and Sivrisinek platforms as a coordinated AI swarm. Five K2 units launched within five minutes and held formation while ten Sivrisinek joine
Heat Index
Serious58/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
Baykar draws attention at the 84th percentile but verifies reality at the 90th percentile among aerial robots. Hype Gap -6.3, 60th widest among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 11 verified deployments. Strong deployment footprint with 10 operational sites across 11 countries. Limited public funding data for capital position assessment.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Oct 17, 2026