Turkey’s Baykar starts building plant in Ukraine to produce Bayraktar drones

The Turkish defense company Baykar has already started constructing a factory in Ukraine to produce Bayraktar drones, Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin said on Monday.

“We are talking about production on the territory of Ukraine. This is the same large plant for Bayraktars, which was negotiated several years ago,” Kamyshin said on national television as reported by Ukrainian media outlet Hromadske.

He added: “They have started building the plant on the ground [in practice], not in [theoretical] memoranda. We have moved on to real steps.”

In October 2022, the CEO of Baykar revealed plans to complete the construction of a manufacturing plant in Ukraine within a two-year timeframe. This announcement came after Baykar gained significant recognition for the effectiveness of its drones in countering Russian forces. The aerial drones supplied by Baykar played a crucial role in Ukraine's defense, particularly in the initial weeks of the Russian invasion, where they successfully countered Russian armor and anti-aircraft systems. The decision to establish a manufacturing plant in Ukraine was part of an agreement between Turkey and Ukraine, which was signed just before the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
According to Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, the drones produced at the plant will be equipped with Ukrainian-made engines, and the facility will also include a training center for Ukrainian pilots, newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported in February 2022.

The Bayraktar TB2 is an advanced and highly capable combat drone. It has gained international recognition for its operational effectiveness and has been successfully deployed in various military operations. The TB2 is a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with advanced systems such as high-resolution cameras, thermal sensors, and laser-guided munitions. With its extended flight endurance and real-time intelligence capabilities, the Bayraktar TB2 provides valuable surveillance, reconnaissance, and target acquisition support to ground forces. Additionally, it can deliver precision strikes on enemy targets, including armored vehicles, fortifications, and personnel, effectively contributing to Turkey's aerial capabilities and increasing its operational effectiveness on the battlefield. The Bayraktar TB2 has proven to be a versatile and reliable asset, showcasing the significance of combat drones in modern warfare.

The company said there have been export agreements signed with 30 countries for Bayraktar TB2 so far. The combat drone has been utilized in various regions around the world. One notable deployment of the TB2 occurred in Syria, where it played a significant role in providing aerial support to Turkish forces involved in operations against extremist groups. The TB2's surveillance capabilities and precision strikes contributed to the effectiveness of Turkish military operations and helped to minimize risks to ground forces.

The Bayraktar TB2 has also been deployed in Libya, where it supported the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) during the conflict against the Libyan National Army (LNA). The drone's ability to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, as well as its precision-strike capabilities, provided critical support to the GNA forces.

In addition, the Bayraktar TB2 has been exported to several countries, including Qatar, and Azerbaijan. These countries have utilized the drone in their own military operations and conflicts, taking advantage of its surveillance capabilities and firepower.

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