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Chairman & CTO, Baykar
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Selçuk Bayraktar (born October 7, 1979, in Istanbul, Turkey) is a prominent Turkish engineer, business leader, and pilot, widely recognized as a pivotal figure in the development of Turkey's indigenous aerospace and defense industry. As the Chairman of the Board and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Baykar, he has led the design and production of several unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems that have significantly influenced modern military doctrine and international geopolitics. Born in the Sarıyer district of Istanbul, Bayraktar is the son of Özdemir Bayraktar, an industrialist who founded the family company Baykar in 1984, and Canan Bayraktar. His foundational education took place at Sarıyer Primary School, followed by Robert College, where he graduated in 1997. He continued his academic pursuits at Istanbul Technical University (ITU), earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering in 2002. Demonstrating early promise in robotics and automation, Bayraktar moved to the United States for graduate studies. He received a Master of Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania's GRASP Laboratory in 2004, where his research on aerial-ground robot coordination received notable attention. He subsequently pursued advanced studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he focused on automatic flight control algorithms for unmanned helicopter systems and earned a second Master of Science degree in 2006. In 2007, Bayraktar returned to Turkey to lead the technology and engineering efforts at Baykar. Shifting the company’s focus toward indigenous UAV development, he played an instrumental role in designing and implementing flight control systems, avionics architecture, and navigation algorithms. Under his technical leadership, the company successfully developed the Bayraktar Mini UAV, followed by the landmark Bayraktar TB2. The TB2, a tactical armed drone, became a cornerstone of the Turkish Armed Forces' capabilities, gaining international attention for its performance in various conflicts, including the Syrian Civil War, the Second Libyan Civil War, the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. His work expanded to include the Bayraktar Akıncı, a high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) combat drone, and the Kızılelma, Turkey's first unmanned combat fighter aircraft project. Beyond his industrial contributions, Bayraktar is a prominent advocate for Turkey's "National Technology Initiative." He co-founded the Turkish Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation), which focuses on fostering engineering talent among the youth. The foundation is best known for organizing TEKNOFEST, an annual aerospace and technology festival that has grown into one of the largest events of its kind globally, aimed at promoting interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In his personal life, Bayraktar married Sümeyye Erdoğan, the daughter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in 2016. The couple has two children. A private pilot, Bayraktar has been the recipient of numerous international honors, including the Karabakh Order from Azerbaijan and the Order of Merit from Ukraine, recognizing the geopolitical impact of the systems developed under his guidance. Today, he remains a central figure in Turkey’s defense sector, continuing to oversee advanced aerospace projects and the expansion of autonomous technologies at Baykar.
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Chief architect of the Bayraktar TB2 drone, the most heavily exported and combat-proven UCAV in the world, deployed by over 30 countries
Successfully conducted the maiden flights and production of the Bayraktar Kızılelma, Turkey's first indigenous, carrier-capable unmanned fighter jet
Transformed Turkey from an importer of Western military technology into a fiercely independent, top-tier global arms exporter
His immense political and corporate success is inevitably tied to his marriage to President Erdoğan's daughter (Sümeyye Erdoğan), drawing persistent, quiet accusations from opposition figures regarding nepotism and the blurring of state resources with private enterprise
Baykar drones have been highly controversial in several regional conflicts, particularly in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and in Ethiopia, leading to temporary international boycotts by Western components suppliers (like Canada and the UK) over human rights concerns
In 2023, Bayraktar filed a defamation lawsuit against an earthquake survivor who questioned the performance and availability of Baykar drones in the immediate aftermath of the February 2023 earthquakes. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2025, with the court ruling that the criticism fell within the bounds of freedom of expression.
Founded the T3 Foundation, organizing Teknofest, the largest aerospace and technology festival in the world, to foster a massive technological awakening among Turkish youth
Graduated from Robert College in 1997.
Earned a bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Istanbul Technical University in 2002.
Completed his master's degree in Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in 2004, where he conducted pioneering research on UAV formation flights.
Earned a second master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2006, focusing on automatic flight control for unmanned helicopters.
Appointed Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Baykar in 2007, leading the development of indigenous UAV technologies.
Led the development of the Bayraktar Mini UAV, which became the first indigenous drone to enter the Turkish Armed Forces' inventory.
Received a patent for the 'Automatic Landing and Takeoff System for Aerial Vehicles' in 2015.
Received a patent for the 'Electromechanical Servo Motor Actuator Capable of Detecting Changing Operational Conditions and Control Method' in 2015.
Received a patent for the 'Triple-Redundant Flight Control System' in 2015.
Played a lead role in the domestic development of intensive care ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Delivered the Bayraktar AKINCI UCAV, Turkey's first 6-ton combat drone, to the Turkish Armed Forces in 2021.
Appointed as Chairman of the Board of Baykar in 2021.
Awarded the Order of Karabakh by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on April 1, 2021, for the contribution of Bayraktar TB2 drones to the liberation of Karabakh.
Received the Ukrainian State Order of Merit in 2022 by order of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Achieved the maiden flight of the Bayraktar KIZILELMA, Turkey's first unmanned fighter jet, on December 14, 2022.
Awarded the Medal of Military Cooperation by the Azerbaijani Minister of Defense on April 4, 2023.
Awarded the Azerbaijani Medal of Service to Citizens and Social Innovations Agency (ASAN Hizmet) on October 2, 2023.
Awarded the National Order of Mali by President Assimi Goïta on October 18, 2023.
Recognized as the top income tax record holder in Turkey for the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years.
Awarded the 1st Degree Order of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on February 28, 2024.
Awarded the Dank State Order of Kyrgyzstan by President Sadyr Japarov on October 9, 2024.
Achieved a historic milestone in November 2024 as the Bayraktar TB3 became the first UCAV to take off and land on a short-runway vessel.
Since 2022, Bayraktar has faced recurring criticism and has initiated multiple legal actions against journalists, media outlets, and social media users who have raised questions regarding his company’s government contracts, the alleged influence of his marriage to President Erdoğan's daughter on his success, and the technical capabilities of his products.
In 2024, a political commentator was arrested following social media allegations that Baykar was involved in jet fuel sales to Israel during the Gaza conflict; Bayraktar denied these claims and accused the commentator of being hired by the opposition to slander his company.
In 2025, his social media platform, 'Next Teknofest Social,' faced public scrutiny and allegations of violating open-source software licensing agreements, specifically for failing to comply with the AGPLv3 license requirements after reportedly using the code of the open-source platform Mastodon.
Bayraktar and his company have faced persistent, widespread allegations from political opponents and critics that Baykar’s rapid growth and domestic dominance are primarily the result of preferential treatment and political patronage due to his familial ties to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, claims which Bayraktar and the government deny by citing the company's technical achievements.