Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of the Turkish company Baykar, spoke about investments in three projects in Ukraine.

This took place at the International Defense Industries Forum in Kyiv, Ukrinform reports.

Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles manufacturer Baykar is investing $100 million in three projects.

“We have three major investments in Ukraine. One of them is the plant. Then we have a service center, as well as a head office here… This is an investment of about $100 million, and the process is already underway. The construction has already started. It will take about 1.5 years to complete. We plan to employ at least 300 people here. The cooperation is ongoing,” Bayraktar said.

He emphasized that the production would be self-sufficient, environmentally friendly and mutually beneficial, as Ukraine had unique technologies for the production of engines, while Turkey had drones on which those engines were installed.

Cooperation with a Turkish company

As previously reported, in July of this year, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine signed an agreement with the Turkish company Baykar to build a service center for the repair and maintenance of drones in Ukraine.

The agreement was concluded as part of the development of the already signed agreement between the governments of Ukraine and Turkey. It was concluded at the beginning of February last year. The document deals with cooperation in the fields of high-tech, aviation and space industries.

In 2021, Ukraine and Turkey signed a memorandum on the construction of a joint training and testing center for the operation of drones.

In February 2023, the Ministry of Defense announced the agreement on the site for the development of the center.

The main tasks for the future center will be maintenance, repair and modernization of equipment. On the basis of the same center, the personnel related to the operation of drones by the Baykar company will be trained.

The construction and arrangement of the center involve the transfer of the company’s technologies, as well as the localization of part of the production.

In June of this year, the Turkish company Baykar announced the production of the 500th Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle.