Unmatched Success: Baykar Leads Turkey’s Defense Industry with Unparalleled Exports and Empowering Employee Grants

Turkey’s Defense Industry Thrives with Baykar Leading the Way

The defense industry is booming not only in Israel but also in other countries, including Turkey. One of the most prominent Turkish defense companies, Baykar, has recently announced that it will reward its employees with grants equivalent to 18 salaries. Baykar is well-known internationally for its VP of Technology, Selcuk Beyrakter, who is married to Soumya, the daughter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Beyrakter is also recognized as the highest taxpayer in Turkey, having paid about 564 million lira (approximately 34 million dollars) to the country in 2022. Additionally, Baykar is known for its Bayraktar TB2 drone which is widely used by the Ukrainian army.

Baykar generates 83% of its revenue from exports and ranked first in security exports within Turkey between 2021-2022. In 2022, amidst the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Baykar’s revenues spiked by 94%. Looking ahead to 2023, the Presidency of Defense Industries has confirmed that Baykar still leads in exports with a total of 1.8 billion dollars, representing a third of all defense sector exports.

Reports in Turkey indicate that Baykar is the corporation that exports UAVs to the highest number of countries, with 33 countries purchasing the Beyrakter TB2 and nine countries purchasing the more advanced Beyrakter Akinci. These exports are subject to the Defense Export Control Division in the Ministry of Defense. As a gesture of appreciation for their employees’ hard work and dedication, Baykar announced that employees who have worked for more than six years or managers in the company for more than two years will receive an 18-salary grant.

Selchuk and his brother Khaluk, who is CEO of Baykar expressed their gratitude to their employees for their contribution to Baykar’s success. They emphasized teamwork as a crucial element for achieving even greater success together in future endeavors. Despite being based out of Israel and facing strong competition from other countries like Turkey and United States; Israeli defense companies like Elbit Systems Limited ranked higher on Stockholm Peace Research Institute’s list of top ten defense companies worldwide for year 2019- -while ranked at number seventy-six on list made by same source this year(Baykar was ranked #76). The editorial policy