Erdoğan commemorates Özdemir Bayraktar on fifth anniversary of his death

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan commemorated Özdemir Bayraktar on the fifth anniversary of his death. Erdoğan described Bayraktar as one of the leading figures behind the ideal of the National Technology Initiative and Türkiye’s homegrown armed unmanned aerial vehicles, known as SİHAs.

Erdoğan called Bayraktar a “valued friend.” He said Bayraktar devoted his life to the goal of a fully independent Türkiye in the defense industry and guided the National Technology Initiative.

Bayraktar died on Oct. 18, 2021. He devoted the final 20 years of his life to developing Türkiye’s domestic and original unmanned aerial vehicle technologies, and he was among those involved in founding Baykar in 1984. Erdoğan’s tribute came on the fifth anniversary of Bayraktar’s death.