Turkish company Baykar, owner of the famous Bayraktar TB2 attack and reconnaissance drone, has started a process to open an assembly line in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar.
In an interview with RBC, Bodnar said the Turkish government last week approved a bilateral agreement, which has yet to be ratified by parliament. Baykar would have already created its subsidiary in Ukraine and even acquired land to build its plant.
However, the project runs into a number of difficulties. Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of the manufacturer, once said he would never sell drones to Russia, but Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have ignored it and reportedly recently asked Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for a deal with Baykar.
Putin and Erdogan met last week to discuss trade partnerships and the conflict in Syria, where the two countries are fighting on opposing sides. The war in Ukraine was not a topic discussed at the meeting, but Erdogan has been trying to mediate the conflict.
There are also no details on how it will be possible to build an assembly line for military equipment in Ukraine without suffering Russian attacks during its operation.
Baykar has a very varied line of military drones that includes the AKINCI model and that should soon also have the TB3 naval aircraft and the Fighter UAV, with up to 1,500 kg payload and jet propulsion.
