Selçuk Bayraktar

Selçuk Bayraktar
Born	(1979-10-07) October 7, 1979 Sarıyer, Istanbul, Turkey
Occupation(s)	Pilot, engineer, entrepreneur
Years active	2007–present
Known for	Chief architect of Bayraktar TB2 and Bayraktar Kızılelma UAVs; founding chairman of the Turkish Technology Team Foundation

Selçuk Bayraktar (born 7 October 1979) is a Turkish pilot, engineer, and entrepreneur. He serves as the chairman of the board and chief technology officer at Baykar, a leading Turkish technology firm. Bayraktar is recognized as the chief architect behind Turkey's first domestically developed unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), the Bayraktar TB2, as well as the nation's inaugural unmanned fighter jet, the Bayraktar Kızılelma. Additionally, he is the founding chairman of the Turkish Technology Team Foundation.

Early life and education

Hailing originally from Trabzon, Bayraktar was born in 1979 in Istanbul’s Sarıyer district. He is the second son of Özdemir Bayraktar and Canan Bayraktar. His father, Özdemir (1948–2021), founded the aerospace company Baykar in 1984. Selçuk began his schooling at Sarıyer Primary School before attending Robert College, from which he graduated in 1997. That same year, he enrolled in Istanbul Technical University’s Electronics and Communication Engineering Department for his undergraduate studies. During this period, he earned a scholarship to the GRASP Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed a master’s degree in 2004. His graduate research involved successfully demonstrating cooperative air–ground coordination between UAVs flying in formation alongside ground robot teams. This achievement garnered attention and led to another scholarship offer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Under the guidance of George Pappas and Eric Feron at MIT, Bayraktar pursued a second master’s degree focused on autonomous aggressive maneuvering techniques for unmanned helicopter systems.

Career

After completing his studies, he returned to Turkey in 2007 and assumed the role of chief technology officer at Baykar. Under his direction, Baykar pioneered Turkey's first homegrown UAV initiative, producing the Bayraktar UAV series, which includes models such as the Bayraktar Mini UAV, Bayraktar TB2, Bayraktar VTOL, and Bayraktar Akıncı. These UAVs have been actively deployed by Turkish security forces in counterterrorism missions against the PKK and have seen operational use in various conflicts including the Syrian Civil War, the Second Libyan Civil War, the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, and the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Due to the impactful role of Bayraktar TB2 drones in reclaiming Nagorno-Karabakh territory from Armenia during 2021, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev honored him with the Karabakh Order. The following year, he received the Ukrainian Order of Merit from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with the award formally presented by Ukraine’s Presidential Administration Chief Andrii Yermak on 2 October 2022.

In March 2021, Bayraktar unveiled a new UAV model, the Bayraktar TB3, which belongs to the MALE class and features a STOL design. This addition extends the company’s TB series following the Bayraktar TB2 and is intended for deployment aboard Turkey's inaugural amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu. By April 2021, Bayraktar declared ambitions to achieve the first flight of Turkey’s first domestically developed unmanned fighter jet by 2023. Nevertheless, the Bayraktar Kızılelma successfully completed its maiden flight earlier than anticipated, on 14 December 2022. Another notable project under his leadership is Turkey’s pioneering flying car initiative (a manned eVTOL) named Cezeri. This vehicle demonstrated its initial autonomous hover flight at an altitude of 10 meters in September 2020, an event that attracted significant international media attention. More recently, Bayraktar announced new ventures into space technologies, revealing ongoing projects focused on orbital transfer vehicles and satellite systems.

Politics

Bayraktar is regarded as a potential candidate to succeed as the leader of the AK Party and as president, following Erdoğan's tenure.

Philanthropy

Bayraktar actively endorses Turkey’s National Technology Initiative, which strives to develop a domestic and self-reliant high-tech ecosystem. Alongside his professional endeavors, he serves as the founding chairman of the Turkish Technology Team Foundation. This organization focuses on elevating public understanding and nurturing gifted youth to foster an environment conducive to Turkey’s advancement in high technology. The foundation organizes maker lab workshops across various cities nationwide, which Bayraktar often attends. Additionally, he holds the position of chairman at the annual Teknofest aerospace and technology festival. This event features pre-funded technology contests and showcases innovative tech companies from around the globe. With over 1.7 million attendees in 2019, it has become the most frequented aerospace and technology festival. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bayraktar played a pivotal role by collaborating with leading Turkish tech firms to design and produce the country’s first ICU-grade medical ventilation device.

Patents

• Aircraft Automatic Landing and Takeoff System (Turkish Patent Institute 2015/07928)
• Actuator System Controlled by Electromechanical Servo Motor with Capability to Detect Variable Operating Conditions (Turkish Patent Institute 2015/14111)
• Flight Control System with Triple Redundancy (Turkish Patent Institute Ref: PT2015-00693)
• Electrocardiogram (EKG) Device (Turkish Patent Institute Ref: PT2015-00693)

Personal life

In 2016, he wed Sümeyye Erdoğan, daughter of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and together they have a daughter and a son.

Awards

• Template:Country data Azerbaijan 1 April 2021: File:AZ Karabakh order ribbon.png Karabakh Order

• Template:Country data Ukraine 2 October 2022: File:Order of Merit 1st Class of Ukraine.png State Order of Merit

• Template:Country data Azerbaijan 4 April 2023: Medal of Military Cooperation

• Template:Country data Azerbaijan 2 October 2023: ASAN Service Medal

• Template:Country data Mali 18 October 2023: National Order of Mali

• Template:Country data Ukraine 28 April 2024: Order of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, First Degree

• Template:Country data Kyrgyzstan 9 October 2024: Dank State Award of Kyrgyzstan