Ankara: NATO countries can accelerate the development of unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities by deepening partnerships and combining existing strengths, Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar said Tuesday. Speaking at a panel titled 'From Innovation to Mass: Building NATO's Drone Edge' during the Defense Industry Forum held as part of the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in Ankara, Bayraktar said the growing role of drones on the battlefield requires shorter development cycles, faster production, and large-scale capacity.

According to Anadolu Agency, Bayraktar stated that Baykar currently collaborates with 40 countries, including some NATO members, and aims to further expand its relations with alliance countries. He emphasized that while most of their customers are outside NATO, there is a strong desire to build more relations with NATO countries. Furthermore, Baykar is recognized as the largest exporter of UAVs, having made significant investments over the past 25 years in platforms ranging from unmanned combat aircraft to strategic-class systems.

Bayraktar highlighted the joint venture with Italy's Leonardo, Leonardo Baykar Aerospace Systems, or LBA Systems, as a successful example of cooperation. He noted that cooperation is more efficient than inventing everything anew or competing against each other. By combining strong platforms and systems with Leonardo's advanced payloads and electronic systems, a synergy is created that leverages the best capabilities of both parties.

He clarified that the partnership model primarily focuses on developing new technologies jointly, rather than transferring existing intellectual property. The aim is to build new intellectual property on the foundation of existing capabilities. Bayraktar pointed out that building such capabilities from scratch could take decades, but through cooperation, allies can begin developing advanced technology immediately and gain a competitive edge.

Bayraktar also stressed the importance of FPV capacity in every country. He noted Trkiye's significant growth in the defense industry ecosystem over the past two decades, with the number of defense companies increasing from 17 to more than 3,000. He highlighted that Trkiye's weekly defense exports have reached approximately $450 million, contributing to a total exceeding $10 billion.

Moreover, Bayraktar emphasized that NATO countries, regardless of size, should focus on sharing capabilities and creating synergy rather than attempting to establish identical capacities independently. Different production and cooperation models are necessary depending on the type of UAV. He concluded by stating that while smaller drones, like FPV drones, should be produced domestically, alliances are needed for developing combat aircraft-class UAVs, which is more beneficial for NATO countries.