Selcuk Bayraktar

Selcuk Bayraktar converted doctoral research into strategic geopolitical leverage, engineering the Bayraktar TB2 drone that altered the dynamics of modern warfare on four continents. Priced at approximately $1–2 million per unit — compared to $20 million or more for comparable Western systems — the TB2 offered armed forces a combat-proven, cost-effective option and generated export agreements with more than 30 countries. Its high-profile deployment during the 2022 Ukraine conflict produced unprecedented international coverage, with the platform credited in hundreds of independently verified engagements. Under Bayraktar's technical leadership, Baykar reached a $5 billion valuation and advanced to the next-generation Akinci platform, which carries a 1,500 kg payload — six times that of the TB2 and 50% heavier than the payload of the runner-up Kargu-2 drone. A Ph.D. graduate of MIT, Bayraktar also chairs the Turkish Technology Team Foundation, personally funding the next generation of Turkish engineers and sustaining the talent pipeline behind the country's defense-tech surge.