Turkish ‘Bayraktar’ Armed UAV Targets New Markets After Completing 100,000 Combat Hours

After Completing 100,000 combat hours in Northern Iraq and Syria, Turkey’s ‘Bayratkar TB2’ armed UAV is planning to target new export markets in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

“I believe we will eventually see TB2 complete one-million-hour flight and our work will evolve towards space flight. The success of the armed UAV in military operations attracted strong attention from other countries,” said Selçuk Bayraktar, the technical manager at Baykar, which produces Bayraktar TB2.

Turkey's requests to purchase UAVs from other countries have been constantly snubbed, despite which they have worked on improving the TB2 and larger systems, Selçuk stated.

Bayraktar TB2 was first sold to Ukraine and then Qatar. It deploys MAM and MAM-L ammunitions and UMTAS missiles.

“We have delivered Bayraktar UAVs to two countries in Europe and the Middle East this year. In the period ahead we will focus on exports to the countries in the Far East, Central Asia, Europe and the Middle East where demand for unmanned aerial vehicles increase,” he said.