Istanbul: According to Baykar's chairman Selcuk Bayraktar, the Turkish defence company plans to start producing its new UCAV, an unmanned combat aerial vehicle that is already generating interest abroad, next year.
The company's light drone, the TB-2, which has been used in the Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and North Africa and has been a huge export success, has helped Baykar become one of the most important Turkish defence exporters in recent years.
The drone, known by its codename Kizilelma, broadens the company's product line from sluggish ground attack drones to quick, agile, autonomous ones that operate alongside fighter jets.
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The 15-meter-long, jet-powered UCAV was designed to be highly autonomous, subject to human control of course, according to Bayraktar, who oversaw the project.
In some ways, the Kizilelma represents a brand-new era in combat aviation.
Baykar intends to start small-scale production the following year. In December, Kizilelma completed its initial flight, and this month, Baykar's other drones and it started conducting formation flight tests.
The vehicle is prepared to take off on test flights alongside piloted aircraft. The amphibious ship for Turkiye will deploy the following year.
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Although the new drone can only be exported to a limited number of export markets due to its specialised capabilities, there is already international demand for it.
The daughter of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's wife, Bayraktar, spoke outside of an aerospace and technology festival that his foundation had sponsored.
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Erdogan's election campaign made extensive use of high-profile military initiatives, and Bayraktar claimed to see the drone as the fruit of a national aspiration and a product "where we tell the world that our country is not only a player but also a game maker."
