The Turkish defense company Baykar plans to complete the construction of a factory near Kyiv by August 2025, reported Reuters, citing the company’s CEO Haluk Bayraktar.
"We have completed 80% of the construction, and machinery is currently being ordered. The production date will be determined by the course of the war, but the facility will be ready in August 2025," Bayraktar stated in an interview with the agency on Thursday.
The factory is expected to produce the TB2 or its heavier variant, the TB3.
Currently, Baykar utilizes engines assembled in Ukraine for its Akinci and Kizilelma drones. The company has also recently signed an agreement with the Ukrainian company Ivchenko-Progress for the joint development of a turbofan engine, Bayraktar mentioned.
Over the next five years, Baykar will invest $300 million in the development of a turboprop engine for the Akinci drone. Following that, a turbofan engine will be developed for the Kizilelma, an air-to-air combat drone currently undergoing flight tests.
Baykar plans to maintain the production capacity of the TB2 and Akinci lines at their current levels while investing in the expansion of the TB3 and Kizilelma lines over the next few years. Mass production of the Kizilelma is expected next year, with an initial output of 10 units. Last year, Baykar generated $2 billion in revenue, compared to $1.4 billion the previous year, with 90% coming from foreign markets. The company accounts for about one-third of Turkey's total defense and aerospace exports.
As previously reported, Bayraktar drones, produced in Turkey, gained widespread recognition worldwide after Ukrainian military forces began using them to counter Russian troops, destroying armored vehicles and artillery systems. In February, it was reported that around 500 people would be employed at the Baykar factory in Ukraine, with an estimated production capacity of about 120 units per year.