Editorial
The Turkish defense company Baykur has begun construction of a plant near Kyiv that will employ around 500 people. The factory will most likely produce the TB2 or TB3 drone models. The CEO of Baykar declared this to Reuters, Haluk Bayraktar, during meetings during the World Defense Show in Riyadh.
Turkish-made Bayraktar drones hit the headlines at the beginning of the Ukrainian war when they destroyed Russian armored vehicles and artillery systems with extreme ease. Their fame had spread throughout Ukraine, so much so that the population dedicated a celebratory song to them.
Baykar also said it has signed export agreements for its TB2 drone with 30 countries. These include Ukraine, Ethiopia, Libya and Azerbaijan.
“Our factory is under construction… we need about 12 months to complete it and then we will move on to the internal structure with the setting up of the machinery. The factory in Ukraine is a large facility, we plan to employ around 500 people”, CEO Bayraktar specified.
Bayraktar specified that the new factory will have the capacity to produce around 120 units each year without confirming whether production at the Ukrainian plant will focus only on the TB2 or TB3 drone model.
On the safety of the factory, in reference to the ongoing conflict, the senior manager stated that the plans are "proceeding at full speed" is that "Nothing" will ever be able to stop them. Bayraktar also said that it is preparing to build a factory in Saudi Arabia in the next two years, following the agreement last July for the sale of the Bayraktar Akinci model, another type of drone, to Ryad. We are talking about perhaps the largest defense contract in the history of Türkiye.
Other defense companies at the event are announcing deals with Riyadh – the US arms maker on Monday Lockheed Martin has signed agreements to allow Saudi companies to produce parts of its missile defense system.
Bayraktar said that looking ahead to the current year, the company plans to double domestic production of the Akinci to 36 units in 2023, while output of the TB2 will remain unchanged at 230 units. Another objective of the company is to produce the new models of the Kızılelma and the TB3 drones by the dozen in the coming months.
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