Turkish Aerospace Giant, Baykar, has taken its place at the National Aerospace Science and Technology Park (NASTP) in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, whose official opening ceremony was held on Friday, August 4. Baykar Chairman Selçuk Bayraktar also attended the inauguration ceremony. Following the opening program, a signing ceremony for the cooperation agreement between Baykar and NASTP took place. The agreement was signed by Baykar Chairman Selçuk Bayraktar and Deputy Chief of Air Staff (NASTP) Air Marshal Ghulam Abbas Ghumman.
During the opening ceremony, Baykar Chairman Selçuk Bayraktar met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Selçuk Bayraktar, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir Ahmad Shah, Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, and Deputy Chief of Air Staff (NASTP) Air Marshal Ghulam Abbas Ghumman took a commemorative photo in front of the Bayraktar AKINCI UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) included in the inventory of the Pakistan Air Force.
Established by Baykar, “Baykar Technologies” will contribute to Pakistan’s aerospace and aviation ecosystem. Baykar Technologies, operating within NASTP, will conduct R&D activities and work to foster mutual innovation and high technology development capabilities. In this way, Turkiye and Pakistan’s long-standing strong ties will be further solidified with high technology towards the future.
The R&D activities to be carried out by Baykar within NASTP also lay the foundation for comprehensive cooperation in the future. Through this, Baykar aims to deepen its partnership with Pakistan in strategic areas.
Baykar has been executing all its projects with its own resources since the beginning and starting from the inception of UCAV R&D in 2003, 75% of its total revenue has come from exports. According to the data of the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM) for 2021 and 2022, Baykar has been the leader in defense and aerospace sector exports. In 2022, Baykar signed contracts with an export rate of 99.3% and achieved $1.18 billion in exports. Being the top exporting company in the defense and aviation industry, Baykar’s revenue reached $1.4 billion in 2022. Export agreements have been signed with 30 countries for Bayraktar TB2 UCAV and with 7 countries for Bayraktar AKINCI UCAV.
Umair Aslam is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Global Defense Insight. He has worked as a defense journalist reporting on military modernization programs, defense industry, arms procurement, and emerging technologies.
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