Mustafa Afşin Ersoy Hall (CLA21)
BAYKAR Executive Board President, the architect of Turkey's first national UAV systems and the first national unmanned combat aerial vehicle Bayraktar KIZILELMA, Technology Leader Selçuk Bayraktar will hold a talk on "National Technology Initiative" at the Eastern Mediterranean University. The talk organized by EMU Rector’s Office will take place on Tuesday, 7 November, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. at the Mustafa Afşin Ersoy Hall.
Who is Selçuk Bayraktar?
Selçuk Bayraktar, the architect of Turkey's first national UAV systems and the first national unmanned combat aerial vehicle Bayraktar KIZILELMA, was born in 1979 in Istanbul-Sarıyer. After graduating from Robert College in 1997, he pursued his undergraduate studies in the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) until 2002. Between 2002 and 2004, he completed his master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in the Department of Electrical Engineering, conducting significant work on UAV formation flights and robot coordination for the first time in the world
During his studies for a master's and Ph.D. at MIT, he focused on automatic flight control algorithms for unmanned helicopter systems, completing his second master's degree in 2006. Returning to Turkey in 2007, he continued UAV technology development activities at Baykar. Serving as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Baykar since 2007, Selçuk Bayraktar has been continuing his work as the Chair of the Board since 2021. He has been involved in the development of avionics system architecture for nationally and originally developed UAV systems at Baykar, including the development of flight control, navigation algorithms, system kinematics and dynamics, electronic hardware, embedded software development, and more.
Under his leadership, he managed the team that developed Bayraktar MİNİ, Turkey's first national UAV, which entered the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces in 2014. The Bayraktar TB2 UAV system, considered the best in its class, has been exported to 32 countries and has surpassed 750,000 successful flight hours. He also oversaw the development of Bayraktar AKINCI TİHA, Turkey's first Tactical UAV system with a takeoff weight of 6 tons, delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces in 2021. As of September 2023, Bayraktar AKINCI TİHA has been exported to 8 countries. Selçuk Bayraktar also led the team in developing CEZERİ, the prototype of Turkey's first flying car.
Currently, he leads the development projects for Bayraktar TB3 SİHA, capable of taking off and landing on short runways, and the development of Turkey's first unmanned combat aerial vehicle project, Bayraktar KIZILELMA. KIZILELMA conducted its first flight on December 14, 2022, before its public announcement in 2023. Under Selçuk Bayraktar's leadership, the development works witnessed, for the first time in aviation history, formation flights. The combat class AKINCI Tactical UAV and KIZILELMA Combat UAV have successfully conducted multiple close formation flights, a first in world aviation history.
Furthermore, he spearheads space initiatives through the technology venture Fergani, leading projects for low-orbit satellites and orbit transfer vehicles at Fergani Space Technologies. During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, he managed the development of domestic intensive care ventilators in Turkey. The respiratory device produced in collaboration with BIOSYS, BAYKAR, ASELSAN, and ARÇELİK has been exported and provided as aid by Turkey to numerous countries.
Bayraktar continues his work in the field of health at the CANSAĞLIĞI Foundation, of which he is the founder and chair of the board of trustees, supporting projects of scientists in various areas, including genetics, immunology, and rare diseases. Due to the contribution of Baykar's developed Bayraktar TB2 UAVs to the liberation of Karabakh, he was awarded the Karabakh Order by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, on 1 April, 2021. In 2022, he was honored with the Order of Dignity of Ukraine by the order of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. On April 4, 2023, he was presented with the Military Cooperation Medal by the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan, Zakir Hasanov. Then, on October 2, 2023, he was awarded the Azerbaijan State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations (ASAN Service) Medal, bestowed by the decision of the President of Azerbaijan to individuals who contributed to the country. Recognizing his contributions and services to the African country of Mali, he was awarded the highest honor of Mali, the National Order of Mali, by the President of Mali, Assimi Goita, on October 18, 2023.
He supports talented youth who can contribute to the development of national and original technology in the Turkey Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation), where he serves as the chair of the board of trustees, and organizes educational programs. The T3 Foundation, which leads the vision of the National Technology Initiative, organizes TEKNOFEST, the world's largest aerospace and technology event. TEKNOFEST, which has an impact beyond borders, was also organized in Azerbaijan in 2022. Bayraktar, who married Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar in 2016, is the father of one child and holds a private pilot license.