Baykar, a Turkish defense company, is building a factory near Kyiv where it will produce either its TB2 or TB3 drone models, the company’s chief executive told Reuters.
In recent years, Turkish Bayraktar drones have gained international prominence after the Ukrainian military used them to destroy armoured vehicles and artillery systems to thwart Russian forces. TB2 drones have been exported to 30 countries since 2018, including Ukraine, Ethiopia, Libya and Azerbaijan, according to SIPRI, a think tank.
“Our factory is being built… we need about 12 months to finish construction and then we will move on to internal machinery, equipment, and organizational structure,” Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar said on the sidelines of the World Defense Show in Riyadh. “The factory in Ukraine is a big one, we are planning to employ around 500 people,” he said.
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Despite the fact that Bayraktar reported that the Ukrainian factory would be capable of producing 120 drones annually, he was unsure if production would concentrate on either the TB2 or TB3 drones. Asked if security issues related to the ongoing conflict would pose a concern for the plant, he stated that plans were “fully moving forward” and “nothing” could halt them from proceeding.
In addition, Bayraktar indicated that the Istanbul-based firm planned to begin production in Saudi Arabia within two years. In July, Bayraktar announced a deal for the sale of another type of drone, the Bayraktar Akinci, to Saudi Arabia, in what Baykar called one of Turkey’s largest defense contracts.
Other defence firms at the event are also announcing deals with Riyadh – on Monday, the U.S. weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin signed an agreement to manufacture missile defense systems with Saudi Arabian companies. In view of the current year, Bayraktar stated that domestic production of Akinci, which stood at 36 units in 2023, would double, while production of TB2 would remain unchanged.
It also aims to produce the new models of the Kızılelma and the TB3 drones “in the tens,” he added.
