Manufacturer of Turkish Bayraktar Drone Signs Agreement with Ukraine

Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar signed an agreement with Ukraine at Istanbul’s Saha Expo Defence & Aerospace Exhibition on Wednesday. Neither disclosed the details of the agreement.  

Baykar is the manufacturer of the Bayraktar drones systems that were operated extensively by Kyiv in the early days of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The company announced the signing of the agreement on Facebook. During the exhibition, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha thanked the Turkish defense contractors for their assistance and called on more to invest in Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.

“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 help. We need additional support from all our partners to overcome Russian aggression and restore a comprehensive, just and lasting peace,” Sybiha is quoted as saying by his ministry’s press release.

Halyuk Bayraktar, general director of Baykar and organizer of the exhibition, also presented Sybiha with a model of the company’s KIZILELMA supersonic jet-powered UAV adorned with Ukrainian symbols.

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Sybiha served as Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey between 2016 and 2021.

Earlier reports in 2022 indicated plans for Baykar to set up shop in Kyiv, with Turkey granting Ukraine the license to produce the drones in June 2023.

In February 2024, Baykar’s CEO said a plant was being constructed in the Kyiv region and scheduled to be finished in 12 months. The plant’s estimated production capacity, when operational, was said to be 120 drones per year.

While the Bayraktar drones were praised for their effectiveness in destroying Russian tanks during the initial days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, active Russian air defense and enhanced electronic warfare capability means that at present Kyiv has relegated the drones to carry out reconnaissance tasks.

The Baykar company is thought to be close to the Turkish government. Its chief technology officer, Selçuk Bayraktar, is married to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s daughter, with some speculation that Selçuk was being groomed to become Erdoğan’s successor.

Turkey, despite being a NATO member, has also sought to position itself as a potential mediator in Russia’s war in Ukraine and has maintained close ties with both Kyiv and Moscow, a position that has raised concerns among some of Ankara’s Western allies.