Selçuk Bayraktar
Born (1979-10-07) 7 October 1979
Sarıyer, Istanbul, Turkey
EducationRobert College
Istanbul Technical University
University of Pennsylvania
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
OccupationElectrical engineering
Known forBaykar
Spouse
​
(m. 2016)​
Children1[1]
RelativesRecep Tayyip Erdoğan (father-in-law)
Emine Erdoğan (mother-in-law)
Haluk Bayraktar (brother)
Awards

Selçuk Bayraktar (born 7 October 1979) is a Turkish engineer and businessman. He is the chairman of the board and the chief technology officer of the Turkish technology company Baykar. He is also known as the architect of Turkey's first indigenous unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) Bayraktar TB2 and first unmanned fighter jet Bayraktar Kızılelma. Bayraktar is also the founding chairman of the Turkish Technology Team Foundation.[2]

Early life and education

Originally from Trabzon, Bayraktar was born in 1979 in the Sarıyer district of Istanbul, the second child of Özdemir Bayraktar and Canan Bayraktar. His father Özdemir (1948–2021) established the Turkish aerospace firm Baykar in 1984. Selçuk began his education in Sarıyer Primary School, thereafter enrolling in Robert College from which he graduated in 1997.[2] In that year, he began higher education in the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering at Istanbul Technical University. During his undergraduate education, he received a scholarship from the GRASP Laboratory at University of Pennsylvania, where he received a master's degree in 2004. His master's degree research involved a successful demonstration of air–ground coordination of UAVs in formation flight alongside territorial robot teams. This work attracted attention and he was offered a further scholarship by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[3] Pursuing his studies under the supervision of George Pappas and Eric Feron, Bayraktar earned his second master's degree with his research in autonomous, aggressive maneuvering of unmanned helicopter systems.[2][4]

Career

Following his education, he returned to Turkey in 2007 and become the chief technology officer of Baykar. Under his leadership, Baykar has developed Bayraktar UAVs, Turkey's first indigenous UAV project, including the Bayraktar Mini UAV, Bayraktar TB2, Bayraktar VTOL and Bayraktar Akıncı.[5] These vehicles were used by Turkish security forces in counterterrorism operations against PKK and participated in conflicts such as the Syrian Civil War, the Second Libyan Civil War, the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine.[6][7][8] As a result of the contributions of Bayraktar TB2s to repatriating Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia in 2021, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has awarded Mr. Bayraktar with the Karabakh Order.[9] The following year, Mr. Bayraktar was awarded the Ukrainian Order of Merit by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The order was presented by the Ukrainian Head of Presidential Administration Andrii Yermak on 2 October 2022.[10]

In March 2021, Bayraktar announced a new UAV model Bayraktar TB3, which is a MALE class STOL-designed aircraft , and an addendum to the company designated TB series UAV's after Bayraktar TB2. The new aircraft is planned to be deployed on Turkey's first amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu.[11][12] In April 2021, Bayraktar announced their target to conduct the maiden flight of Turkey's first domestically-made unmanned fighter jet in 2023.[13] However, Bayraktar Kızılelma completed its first flight ahead of the expected date, on 14 December 2022.[3] One other significant project that Bayraktar leads is Turkey's first flying car (manned eVTOL) project Cezeri. Cezeri demonstrated its first flight in September 2020 with hovering autonomously 10 meters above ground. The vehicle and the flight was widely covered in global media.[14][15] Recently Bayraktar announced a new venture on space technologies with making public their ongoing initiatives on orbital transfer vehicles and satellite technologies.[4]

Politics

He is seen as possible successor as leader of AK Party and president Erdogan.[16]

Philanthropy

Bayraktar supports the National Technology Initiative pursued by Turkey that aims to establish a local and indigenous high-technology environment. Therefore, in addition to his professional work, he holds the founding chairmanship of the Turkish Technology Team Foundation. The foundation aims to raise public awareness and educate talented youth to promote the necessary ecosystem for the national development of high technology in Turkey.[17] It holds maker lab workshops at cities around the country which Bayraktar frequently attends.[18] He is also chairman of the Teknofest annual aerospace and technology festival. It holds pre-funded technology competitions and exhibits technology enterprises that have been brought from around the world. With hosting more than 1.7 million visitors in 2019, the organization has become the most visited aerospace and technology festival.[19] Bayraktar played a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic with leading major tech companies of Turkey to design and manufacture the nation's first ICU-type medical ventilation machine.[20]

Personal life

He married Sümeyye Erdoğan, daughter of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in 2016 and has a daughter with her.[21]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Sümeyye Erdoğan anne oldu! İşte bebeğin ismi".
  2. 1 2 3 "Baykar Machine and Defense; Selçuk Bayraktar biography". Baykar. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 Bayraktar, Selcuk (December 2004). "Hybrid Modeling and Experimental Cooperative Control of Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles". Technical Reports (Cis) (34). Archived from the original on 4 August 2005. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 Bayraktar, Selcuk (3 February 2006). Aggressive Landing Maneuvers for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Library (Thesis). hdl:1721.1/35581. Archived from the original on 10 July 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2021. Alt URL
  5. ↑ "Turkey's Giant Leap: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles". Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. ↑ Fahim, Kareem (29 November 2020). "Turkey's Military Campaign Beyond its Borders is Powered by Homemade Armed Drones". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Farooq, Umar (14 May 2019). "How Turkey Defied the U.S. and Became a Killer Drone Power". The Intercept. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  8. ↑ Hambling, David. "Ukrainian Drone Strikes Are Extremely Bad News For Russia". Forbes. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  9. ↑ SABAH, DAILY (1 April 2021). "Baykar CTO Bayraktar receives 'Karabakh Order' from Aliyev". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Zelensky's office head visits Türkiye's Baykar - Türkiye News". Hürriyet Daily News. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  11. ↑ "Erdogan's Armed Drone Maker Leads Military Push, Unsettling Allies". Bloomberg.com. 5 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  12. ↑ Bayraktar, Selcuk (8 April 2021). "Selcuk Bayraktar Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  13. ↑ "Turkey's unmanned fighter jet prototype to fly by 2023: Baykar CTO". Daily Sabah. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  14. ↑ Koksal, Ilker. "Will We Have Self-Flying Cars Before Self-Driving Cars?". Forbes. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "Turkey shows off first 'flying car' prototype | Reuters Video". Reuters. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "Three figures stand out for AKP leadership in post-Erdoğan period, says journo". 9 May 2023.
  17. ↑ "Technology should be used for peace, welfare: Baykar CTO". Daily Sabah. Anadolu Agency. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  18. ↑ "Deneyap Teknoloji Atölyeleri ilk mezunlarını verdi". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  19. ↑ "Teknofest Istanbul draws more than 1.7M visitors". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  20. ↑ "Turkey's great success: Producing ventilators in 2 weeks amid pandemic". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  21. ↑ "Sümeyye Erdoğan evlendi" (in Turkish). Posta. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  22. ↑ "Baykar CTO Bayraktar receives 'Karabakh Order' from Aliyev". Daily Sabah. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  23. ↑ "President Ilham Aliyev awards Selcuk Bayraktar with "Garabagh" Order". azertag.az. 1 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 April 2021.
  24. ↑ "President on NATO membership: I am sure we will implement this project". www.ukrinform.net. 2 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  25. ↑ "Zelenskiy'den Selçuk Bayraktar'a 'Devlet Liyakat Nişanı'". www.trthaber.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 3 October 2022.
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