Egypt and the Illusion of Transferring Defense Technology

Those who have great hopes regarding the topic of technology transfer, especially with Turkey, and more so with Baykar,

I apologize for the lengthy discourse; I will write in my usual manner: first the information, then my personal analysis. You may agree or disagree, but if you disagree, try not to be overly optimistic and consider that partnership or technology transfer may not necessarily be suitable for a country like Egypt, with its human resources, assets, and large industrial base..

Over the past two years, there have been many discussions about attempts by Arab countries to persuade Baykar to sell part of its shares or to transfer development and manufacturing operations to their territories..

Saudi Arabia, after normalizing relations with Turkey, has entered this field strongly, particularly focusing on Baykar. It signed a huge contract to purchase "Akinci" aircraft, which is the largest contract in the company's history and also the largest air export contract in the entire history of Turkey. The contract also included a clear agreement to localize part of the manufacturing within Saudi Arabia in cooperation with "SAMI", a major government company considered one of the largest defense industries in Saudi Arabia, and listed among the world's top 100 defense companies..

However, even with this huge contract, Saudi Arabia could not persuade Baykar to transfer technology entirely; the agreement settled on advanced assembly and partial manufacturing with local production lines under direct supervision from Baykar..

Around the same time, Turkish media reported on Saudi Arabia's desire to buy a large stake in the company, and some reports even mentioned intentions to purchase the entire company for an estimated $100 billion, a figure close to the total debt of Egypt. The opposition in Turkey launched a strong campaign against the government at that time, accusing it of compromising the most important defense company in the country..

There were also reports of the UAE's interest in a stake in Baykar, according to Turkish analytical reports, but it was not officially announced. What is certain is that the UAE purchased "TB2" aircraft and then entered into industrial partnerships with Baykar through the "Edge" group, which is also among the top 100 defense companies in the world..

This partnership is not at the ownership level, but rather concerns the integration of UAE munitions and systems on Baykar platforms..

As for Morocco, its case is completely different. Although it has a strong industrial base, I do not know for sure whether it has requested technology transfer or not; however, Baykar itself established a company named "Atlas Defense" on Moroccan soil with Turkish ownership, featuring a project for manufacturing, maintenance, and assembly that serves the Moroccan army and acts as a gateway to African markets..

Azerbaijan, which is one of Turkey's closest countries, did not see any technology transfer between it and Baykar, even during wartime, despite Turkey providing all possible support..

The reality that many do not want to hear is that Baykar is not a company that thinks in terms of "distributing technology to friends," nor does it solely think from the perspective of profits and financial returns. Anyone close to this field in Turkey understands this truth very well..

Baykar, by the way, is a family-owned company and is very centralized in decision-making, believing that its most important assets are not the factories or even the drones it has developed, but the accumulated knowledge and the development chain that links software to hardware to operations. Without this knowledge, Baykar would not exist at all, and therefore it will not relinquish it because it is the essence of the company and its true definition..

This means that if we assume that all of the company's production suddenly disappears tomorrow, it would be able to rebuild everything from scratch within a few years..

For this reason, the idea of selling the company entirely is rejected within it, no matter how fantastic the amount is; furthermore, the idea of transferring core development outside Turkey is considered a red line..

What Baykar is doing is no different from what any professional defense company in the world does: partial local manufacturing, assembly, training, operation, and limited sharing of some components, while the core technology remains exclusive to it and is never subject to negotiation..

As for Egypt, my opinion is that we are not a country that needs "technological charity," and it is not logical for us to see ourselves as a small country in need of someone to teach it from the ground up..

Egypt possesses a massive human capital, competent engineers, and a wide industrial base. If these capabilities are utilized properly, it could develop drones and integrated systems from scratch without needing a "partnership catalog."

The idea that a foreign company would come to transfer technology to you does not happen as some imagine.. In the best cases, what you achieve is merely to allow your companies and engineers an initial glimpse of the technology or its operational mechanisms, even with the closest allies..

What actually happens is operational transfer, not a transfer of technological sovereignty..

We must move beyond the idea that the magic solution is to enter a partnership with Baykar or others for technology transfer. Yes, partnerships are certainly beneficial, but they cannot substitute for building a real national project and cannot operate with the same logic across all countries..

Saudi Arabia has the money and market, the UAE has money and active projects, Morocco has a strategic location and an advanced industrial base, while Egypt has something entirely different — massive resources, enormous capacities, and potential that must transform into an independent strategy and a real national project..

This is an AI-generated English translation. The original text is in العربية