Türkiye’s leading defense company Baykar has achieved another remarkable success with its Bayraktar AKINCI Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV), which has officially completed 100,000 flight hours. Developed under the leadership of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), AKINCI’s latest milestone highlights Türkiye’s technological maturity in the field of unmanned systems and solidifies its position among the world’s most advanced combat UAV platforms.

AKINCI stands out with its cutting-edge avionics, AI-assisted flight control systems, and integration with indigenous precision munitions. The system has already been exported to 11 countries and is actively operating in multiple regions worldwide. One of AKINCI’s most high-profile missions took place on May 19, 2024, when it played a critical role in locating the crashed helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Despite foggy weather, strong winds, and mountainous terrain, AKINCI flew at altitudes as low as 300 feet, used its advanced sensors to detect the wreckage, and transmitted coordinates to Iranian authorities — an operation that captured global attention.

Beyond its operational achievements, AKINCI has made historic contributions to aviation. On April 24, 2023, Bayraktar AKINCI and Türkiye’s jet-powered unmanned fighter KIZILELMA performed the world’s first close formation flight between two unmanned combat aircraft. Later, during TEKNOFEST 2023, both platforms repeated this flight in front of the public over Istanbul skies, marking a symbolic moment in Turkish aerospace history. AKINCI also performed a commemorative flight over the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) during its 50th anniversary celebrations, covering more than 1,000 kilometers in a single mission.

AKINCI holds Türkiye’s national altitude record, reaching 45,118 feet (13,716 meters) during endurance and high-altitude tests conducted in 2022. It has also proven its reliability in humanitarian missions — during the February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, multiple AKINCI units supported search and rescue, coordination, and reconnaissance operations under severe weather conditions. In weapons integration tests, AKINCI successfully deployed a wide range of indigenous munitions, including MAM-L, TOLUN, GÖZDE, GÖKÇE, İHA-230 supersonic missile, and ÇAKIR cruise missile, achieving pinpoint accuracy in all engagements.

Financed entirely through its own resources, Baykar continues to lead Türkiye’s defense exports, generating $1.8 billion in exports in both 2023 and 2024. Ranked among the top 10 exporters in Türkiye across all sectors, Baykar is now recognized as the largest drone exporter in the world. To date, Bayraktar TB2 has been exported to 34 countries, while Bayraktar AKINCI has entered the inventories of 11 nations, including Türkiye’s allies such as Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia.

With 100,000 flight hours behind it, AKINCI is not just a symbol of Turkish engineering excellence — it represents the transformation of Türkiye into a global leader in unmanned aerial technologies and defense innovation.