Ukraine stole a contract with Bayraktar manufacturer to build a center for UAV repair
The company will provide full service for drones and create jobs for Ukrainians, the Defense Ministry said.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Turkish company Baykar Makina, which manufactures Bayraktar drones, have signed an agreement to build a service center for the repair and maintenance of unmanned aerial vehicles. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense.
It is noted that this project was developed within the framework of the agreement between Ukraine and Turkey “on cooperation in the field of high technology, aviation and space industries.”
State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kostyantyn Vashchenko said that this is another step that will significantly strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the defense sector.
“The creation of the service center will make a significant contribution to strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities and help bring our victory closer. On behalf of the Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov, I would like to thank the entire team that worked on the project. This is only the first stage of work,” he emphasized.
According to Vashchenko, the project will also help Ukraine economically, as it will create jobs and lay the foundation for systematic work in the defense sector.
“Everyone in Ukraine knows what Bayraktar is, knows your company. But we are moving forward and it is important for us to create our own base in Ukraine to service drones. This joint project will lay the foundation for our systematic work and create jobs in Ukraine. We have reached an agreement, and the center will be established soon,” he summarized.
The MoD Secretary of State added that the Ukrainian defense ministry’s current policy is aimed at strengthening its own military equipment repair capabilities.
“This applies not only to drones. This also applies to heavy armored vehicles and other means of warfare. We understand that we need to develop our own infrastructure, create our own jobs, and train our own personnel so that even after the victory we can be as efficient as possible and use the available resources to maintain the state’s defense capability at the proper level,” Vashchenko summarized.
By the way, on June 23, the Turkish company Baykar received permits to manufacture Bayraktar TB2 and AKINCI SİHA drones in Ukraine starting in 2025.
In December 2022, the Verkhovna Rada ratified an agreement with Turkey that will allow Baykar to launch drone production in Ukraine. It is worth noting that the countries signed an agreement on joint technology development before Russia’s full-scale invasion.
At the end of January 2023, Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar announced the completion of the Baykar plant construction project in Ukraine. According to him, the company should start operating by 2025 with partial localization of production.
