Baykar, the company behind Türkiye's famed combat drones, is allocating resources to increase in-house component production to address industry supply chain challenges and plans to invest about $300 million in developing jet engines, according to its CEO.
Baykar's unmanned combat aerial vehicles, or UCAVs, have gained prominence globally after being used by Ukraine's military against Russian forces as well as in campaigns in Azerbaijan and North Africa.
The company has become one of the most prolific drone exporters worldwide, with its light Bayraktar TB2 and heavy Akıncı drones sold to at least 35 countries.
Baykar is currently focused on bringing production of as many components in-house as possible, CEO Haluk Bayraktar said in an interview on the sidelines of the SAHA defense exhibition in Istanbul, shortly before a deadly attack on Türkiye's aerospace manufacturer TAI.
"With supply chain continuity a major issue worldwide, we're focused on in-house manufacturing. The missing piece is the engine and now we are beginning our own development project," Bayraktar said.
Baykar will invest $300 million over the next five years to develop a turboprop engine for the Akıncı drone. It will follow this with a turbofan engine for Kızılelma, an unmanned fighter jet currently undergoing flight trials.
Akıncı and Kızılelma currently use Ukrainian-built engines. The company has also recently signed an agreement with Ukraine's Ivchenko-Progress to separately co-develop a turbofan engine, Bayraktar said.
In the long term, the company is betting on autonomous, air-to-air combat-capable drones taking over fighter jets.
"There are 13,000 piloted fighter jets in the world, and we are betting that over the next four decades all of them will be autonomous," Bayraktar said.
"They'll be smaller, employed in riskier missions and easier to manufacture. Their numbers will be an order of magnitude higher than the fighter jets we have today," he added.
Ukraine factory
Baykar expects to complete a Ukrainian factory next year.
"We are 80% through with construction and machines are being ordered. Production date will be determined by the course of the war, but the facility will be ready in August 2025," Bayraktar said.
The factory is expected to produce TB2 or its heavier payload-capable variant TB3.
Baykar will keep capacity on TB2 and Akıncı production lines flat, and over the next few years invest in expanding TB3 and Kızılelma lines.
Kızılelma is expected to go into serial production next year at 10 units.
TB3 boasts the ability to fold its wings and is tailored for Türkiye's first aircraft carrier, the TCG Anadolu, which is also dubbed the world's first drone carrier.
Baykar's revenues were $2 billion last year, up from $1.4 billion the previous year, with 90% from foreign markets. The company accounts for around a third of Türkiye's total defense and aerospace exports.