{"id":9075,"date":"2024-04-05T14:46:46","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T14:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geopoliticalcompass.com\/?p=9075"},"modified":"2024-04-05T14:47:49","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T14:47:49","slug":"the-turkish-drone-that-changed-the-nature-of-warfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geopoliticalcompass.com\/?p=9075","title":{"rendered":"The Turkish Drone That Changed the Nature of Warfare"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Author: <\/b>Stephen Witt<\/span><\/a><\/p>

Affiliation:<\/b> Los Angeles-based writer, television producer, and investigative journalist<\/span><\/p>

Organization\/Publisher:\u00a0 <\/b>The <\/span>New Yorker<\/span><\/a><\/p>

Date\/Place:<\/b> May 9, 2022 \/ New York, USA<\/span><\/p>

Type of Literature:<\/b> Long Form Reportage<\/span><\/p>

Word Count: <\/b>4400<\/span><\/p>

Link: <\/b>https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2022\/05\/16\/the-turkish-drone-that-changed-the-nature-of-warfare<\/span><\/a><\/p>

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Keywords:<\/b> T\u00fcrkiye, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Russia, Libya, Syria, Defense Industry, Bayraktar, Bayraktar TB2<\/span><\/i><\/p>

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Brief:<\/b><\/p>

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The Bayraktar drone, a weapon of influence, has attained the status of \u201cfinal nail in the coffin\u201d in recent armed conflicts since it turned the tables in at least two wars \u2013 intra-Libya and Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict. This explainer brings to fore the faces, energy, resources, efforts, sweat and legacy behind the state-of-the-art tech-laced drone which dodges the counter anti-air defense systems to hit targets in their nest. With its popularity touching new heights after succeeding in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, the grey-colored and flat Bayraktar TB2 has turned into lyrics of victory songs and people in Lithuania have turned to public donations to buy the eagle-eyed unmanned minor aircraft to ensure security and territorial integrity of one\u2019s homeland. The radio-controlled drone flies stealthily, executing air strikes on its targets and returning home traveling 25,000 feet above sea-level. From its first kill in 2016 until May of this year, the Bayraktar TB2 drone has carried out over eight hundred strikes from North Africa to the Caucasus.\u00a0 The author calls the drone an influential weapon, as it has given T\u00fcrkiye an edge in both its diplomacy and military influence in the region and beyond. From being a country overly dependent on defense imports in the early years of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s rule in the first half of 2000, to producing close to 80% of arms and weapons domestically, T\u00fcrkiye has attained close to an autonomous position to maneuver in its foreign policy, especially in its immediate neighborhood. At a time when the US refuses to sell critical weaponry including F35 fighter jets to Ankara, TB2 drones make precision strikes against PKK terrorists, who are armed by the Pentagon.<\/span><\/p>

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The creator of the drone is Sel\u00e7uk Bayraktar, born in 1979 and son of \u00d6zdemir, a Turkish auto-parts entrepreneur. \u00d6zdemir, who died last year, was also an amateur pilot who took Sel\u00e7uk in his small aircraft, nourishing his children\u2019s creativity in his Istanbul-based factory which he started after graduating from Istanbul Technical University. Bayraktar, an MIT (US) graduate, \u201cis more of a builder,\u201d describes his graduate supervisor Eric Feron. He remembers Bayraktar as a \u201cdedicated craftsman and an observant Muslim.\u201d But it was\u00a0 Necmettin Erbakan, T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s fomer Prime Minister and professor of mechanical engineering, who gave wings to Bayraktar\u2019s dreams. Despite having to step down under visible military pressure, Erbakan put his weight behind the idea and allowed Bayraktar to be embedded in the Turkish military and witness combat \u201con the frontlines\u201d \u2013 something which his admirers applaud. Finally, the first prototype was ready by 2014 and the first test was conducted a year later. \u201cBy April, 2016, the TB2 was delivering live munitions. The earliest targets were the PKK \u2014 drone strikes have killed at least twenty of the organization\u2019s leaders, along with whoever was standing near them,\u201d the author claims. There has been no looking back.<\/span><\/p>

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Baykar Technologies, the promoter firm, now has at least two potential customers from NATO allies of T\u00fcrkiye \u2013 a first in its history since being member of the world\u2019s largest military alliance \u2013 that Ankara was capable of domestically producing high-tech armament and selling it to NATO. While Poland has placed orders, Latvia is mulling to be another buyer. The drone maker is married to Turkish businesswoman S\u00fcmeyye Erdo\u011fan, who wears the hijab and is the daughter of President Erdo\u011fan. This also reflects the transformation of Turkish society in the past two decades, as previously no Hijab-clad woman would even think of entering a university for higher education under strict secular laws that prohibited wearing the Hijab in the academic domain. S\u00fcmeyye is US-educated from the Indiana University Bloomington. Bayraktar is seen regularly engaging with youth and university-going students, giving lectures and aiding many projects to push forward T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s attempts in the high-tech industry. \u201cIn this day and age, the biggest change in our lives is driven by technology \u2014 and who drives the changes? The ones who create technology,\u201d says Bayraktar.<\/span><\/p>

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Teknofest, an annual summit to feature T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s progress in high tech, aerospace and warfare, and a platform for young talent, has already expanded to Azerbaijan this year with a sister summit planned every year. Bayraktar and his innovations are a special attraction at the event. Accomplishments by three brothers, including Bayraktar, is not the culmination of a days nor year\u2019s job. \u201cWe were working, all throughout our childhood, in the factory,\u201d Bayraktar said of his childhood when the three brothers would help their father. A critic of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, Bayraktar is working on the TB3 drone which can be launched from a boat. Another model, the Akinci can fly to 40,000 feet and can be equipped with jamming countermeasures. While the US threw T\u00fcrkiye out of its F35 program, Baykar is coming with the country\u2019s first jet, the Kizilelma, which does not have a cockpit. Additionally, the Turkish drone maker is known for Cezeri, a human-size quadcopter, termed a \u201cflying car\u201d by its creator. Days before Moscow mounted an armed assault on Kiev, T\u00fcrkiye and Ukraine had signed a deal to assemble TB2 drones in the eastern European country which has since been bombarded by the Russians. Elated Ukrainians produced songs after repelling Russians via TB2 attacks, hitting many anti-air defense systems, a replica of what T\u00fcrkiye did to Russian equipment in Syria and Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani lands in Nagorno-Karabakh. However, as the author notes, it is not merely a one-time business sale relationship between Baykar and recipient nations. \u201cYou don\u2019t just buy it,\u201d says Mark Cancian, a military-procurement specialist. \u201cYou have married the supplier, because you need a constant stream of spare parts and repair expertise.\u201d Thus, drone sales give leverage to T\u00fcrkiye in its bilateral relations.<\/span><\/p>

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In exchange for a defense deal with Nigeria, Ankara got access to minerals and liquefied natural gas of the African nation. Ethiopia was handed the TB2 drones after the government took action against G\u00fclenist schools \u2013 whose founder Fethullah G\u00fclen was behind the failed 2016 military coup in T\u00fcrkiye. And the customers get updates on their Bayraktar systems many times a month to avoid being hacked. To operate the system, the recipient countries fly their personnel to western T\u00fcrkiye for training. It is a continuous process. It has also allowed smaller nations to unlock their dependence on the US and other big powers for protection and look for other options to fulfill their security needs without much to lose or return. While Bayraktar is mulling to produce an \u201cautonomous drone\u201d, the author, however, warns that T\u00fcrkiye has been facing a \u201cbrain drain\u201d problem as top talent pursues opportunities outside of T\u00fcrkiye. The autonomous drone, when ready, would \u201cfind its way home if its communication links were severed.\u201d Cautious about harming any \u201cpoor\u201d person, Bayraktar says he would be \u201cresponsible on the day of judgment.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cSometimes oppression is worse than death,\u201d Bayraktar noted.<\/span><\/p>

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By: <\/b>Riyaz ul Khaliq, <\/span>CIGA Non-resident Research Associate<\/span><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author: Stephen Witt Affiliation: Los Angeles-based writer, television producer, and investigative journalist Organization\/Publisher:\u00a0 The New Yorker Date\/Place: May 9, 2022 \/ New York, USA Type of Literature: Long Form Reportage Word Count: 4400 Link: https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2022\/05\/16\/the-turkish-drone-that-changed-the-nature-of-warfare \u00a0 Keywords: T\u00fcrkiye, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Russia, Libya, Syria, Defense Industry, Bayraktar, Bayraktar TB2 \u00a0 Brief: \u00a0 The Bayraktar drone, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":9076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-west-asia"],"blocksy_meta":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/geopoliticalcompass.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/The-Turkish-Drone-That-Changed-the-Nature-of-Warfare.png",1603,1068,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/geopoliticalcompass.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/The-Turkish-Drone-That-Changed-the-Nature-of-Warfare-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/geopoliticalcompass.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/The-Turkish-Drone-That-Changed-the-Nature-of-Warfare-300x200.png",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/geopoliticalcompass.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/The-Turkish-Drone-That-Changed-the-Nature-of-Warfare-768x512.png",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/geopoliticalcompass.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/The-Turkish-Drone-That-Changed-the-Nature-of-Warfare-1024x682.png",1024,682,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/geopoliticalcompass.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/The-Turkish-Drone-That-Changed-the-Nature-of-Warfare-1536x1023.png",1536,1023,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/geopoliticalcompass.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/The-Turkish-Drone-That-Changed-the-Nature-of-Warfare.png",1603,1068,false]},"author_info":{"info":["CIGA 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