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Turkey's Baykar to open service center for drones in Ukraine

by Dinara Khalilova July 31, 2023 7:03 PM 2 min read

Representatives of Ukraine's Defense Ministry and the Turkish company Baykar shake hands after signing a contract on building a service center for drones in Ukraine on July 31, 2023. (Defense Ministry's press service)

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Ukraine's Defense Ministry and the Turkish company Baykar signed a contract on July 31 to build a service center for the repair and maintenance of combat drones.

The contract is part of the larger agreement on Turkey-Ukraine cooperation in the field of high technologies, aviation, and space industries, which entered into force on Jan. 23.

"The creation of a service center will be a significant contribution to strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities and will help bring our victory closer," said State Secretary of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Kostiantyn Vashchenko.

According to Vashchenko, the center will be built "in the near future."

"Turkey's assistance to Ukraine during a full-scale war is certainly invaluable. Special thanks to the Baykar company for its contribution to increasing the strength of the Armed Forces in the fight against Russian aggression… This joint project will lay the foundation of our systematic work and create more jobs in Ukraine," the official added.

The agreement on Turkey-Ukraine cooperation in the field of high technologies, aviation, and space industries also allows the construction of a factory in Ukraine to produce Turkish Bayraktar drones.

Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin said on July 10 that the construction had already started.

According to Baykar's CEO, Haluk Bayraktar, the production of drones is set to begin in 2025, and the total investment into the project would amount to around $95 million.

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, according to Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

Bayraktar is a Turkish strike operational-tactical medium-altitude drone with a long flight duration, which Turkey has been supplying to Ukraine for the past few years.

Author: Dinara Khalilova

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