The Turkish company Baykar, which manufactures Bayraktar drones, has started construction of a plant in Kyiv region. This was reported by Reuters with reference to
According to the company’s CEO Haluk Bayraktar, the construction is scheduled to last 12 months.
“Our plant is under construction. It will take us about 12 months to complete the construction, and then we will move on to the internal machinery, equipment and organisational structure,” he said,
– he said.
Baikar claims that the plant will employ around 500 people. The planned production capacity is 120 drones per year. However, it is not yet known which model will be produced – TV2 or TV3.
Haluk Bayraktar claims that no dangers will stop the construction of the plant in Ukraine.
Bayraktar in Ukraine
The Bayraktar TB2 is a Turkish strike tactical drone that can fly guided or autonomous missions at altitudes of several kilometres and with a long duration. The drone was extremely effective for the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, but the Ukrainian army first used it against Russian mercenaries in October 2021. Bayraktar TB3 is the next model in the line.
Work on launching the production of Baykar drones in Ukraine began even before the full-scale Russian invasion. In particular, on 3 February 2022, the then Minister of Defence of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov announced that a plant for the production of Bayraktars with Ukrainian engines would be set up in Ukraine, and later that day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed an agreement with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to expand the production of Baykar drones in Ukraine. By early August 2022, the Turkish company had already acquired a land plot for the plant in Ukraine and established a legal entity.
In June 2023, Baykar received licensing permits from the Turkish government to manufacture Bayraktar TB2 and Akıncı drones in Ukraine. The total planned investment, according to the Turkish side, is expected to amount to USD 95.5 million.