Turkish company Baykar will build a drone strike factory in Ukraine by the middle of this decade. CEO Haluk Bayraktar spoke about the implementation of the project.
The construction of the company in Ukraine was first announced in October last year. Work is on schedule and the launch of the plant is scheduled for 2025, but the exact date has not yet been determined.
Baykar has set up a subsidiary company, Avia Ventures, to realise the goal. The limited liability company was registered in Ukraine in 2019 and received an export-import licence for military products in early 2022. Avia Ventures has become one of the first companies in Ukraine with a defence systems licence to have a foreign founder in its structure.
Haluk Bayraktar noted that preparatory work has already started at the site. The site will be provided with electricity next month. The joint project of Ukraine and Turkey received an impetus at the end of last year, when the governments of the two countries signed a framework agreement on cooperation in the aerospace field.
The document provides for special tax and customs privileges for Turkish investors in order to ensure cash inflows and create favourable conditions for technology transfer. They will be valid until January 2035.
Baykar will invest $95.5 million in construction of the enterprise. The company has already received a permit from the Turkish government for production of unmanned strike drones Bayraktar TB2 and Bayraktar Akinci in Ukraine.
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