Baykar signs cooperation agreement with Ukraine

The Turkish company Baykar signed a cooperation agreement with the Ukrainian side.

The company reported that the agreement was signed at the Saha Expo defense industry fair in Turkey.

Andrii Sybiha, the Foreign Minister, Mustafa Dzhemilev, an MP and leader of the Crimean Tatar people, and others represented the Ukrainian delegation at the signing ceremony.

The details of the agreement were not disclosed. However, before signing the agreement, Andrii Sybiha received a gift from the CEO of the Turkish company Baykar – a model of the Kizilelma supersonic jet UAV with Ukrainian symbols.

“Today is the 972nd day of the full-scale Russian invasion. Ukraine continues to defend itself. We are grateful to our Turkish partners for their solidarity and assistance. We need additional support from all our partners to overcome Russian aggression and restore a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace,” the Minister stated.

Sybiha also called on Turkish companies to actively invest in developing the Ukrainian defense industry.

The Bayraktar Kizilelma is a supersonic, stealthy deck-mounted unmanned aerial vehicle being developed by the Turkish defense company Baykar Makina.

The new aircraft project was presented on paper on August 4, 2021, and a year later, Kizilelma reached the prototype stage.

Also in February, Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of the Turkish company Baykar, said that a plant for the production of drones was already under construction in the Kyiv region.

In February, the plant was under construction, which will take about 12 months to complete.

Next, the company plans to start installing the necessary equipment and creating an organizational structure.

He noted that the plant’s capacity will be able to produce about 120 drones a year but added that a specific model has not yet been chosen.