Bayraktar Hints at Kill Switch in Combat Drones

The senior executive of Turkish defense manufacturer Baykar dismissed concerns that as it increases exports, its attack drones may one day be used against Ankara, saying that all required measures had been taken to prevent the military technology from slipping into the hands of a prospective adversary.

Selcuk Bayraktar, chairman and chief technology officer of Baykar, stated in an earlier this week interview with TV100 that the company, first and foremost, only sells combat drones to nations that have “close relations” or a “strategic alliance” with Türkiye and does not “expect” a stab in the back.

He noted, but didn’t elaborate,

“you also know that these are high-tech devices, and you equip high-tech devices with software. Only those who develop that technology dominate the software.”

The CTO stated that Baykar has taken precautions to stop hackers from commandeering and damaging its UAVs. Bayraktar claimed to presenter Candas Tolga Isik, “Of course, we have special measures regarding information security.” Noting that, “now you know that in this era, states are also hacked. We are taking special measures against all these, and this is also a race.”

“We can take control of all UAVs sold by us to other countries and deploy them in the air against them; they work on our software,”

said Selcuk Bayraktar.

Drone control systems are apparently connected to satellites or can be controlled via medium waves. Information on this subject was voiced in an interview with journalists by the technical director of the Turkish company Baykar Makina Selçuk Bayraktar.

Previously, such a feature of Turkish drones has never been disclosed, which can seriously affect the interest in Turkish drones. However, which is very remarkable, this may mean that during the conflict in Ukraine, it was Turkey that could be involved in controlling the strikes of Ukrainian drones, especially those drones that can be controlled via satellite communication channels.

Sources: MENAFN; Defence View;

 

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