The 2nd Saudi International Defense Exhibition is being held in Saudi Arabia, and Turkish defense company Baykar President Haluk Bayraktar told Reuters that the company has launched a new plant in Kyiv, Ukraine, which will employ about 500 people and will be used to make drones such as TB2 and TB3.
According to a Reuters report on February 6, the Ukrainian army once used the Turkish-produced "Bairata" drone to inflict some damage on Russian armored vehicles and artillery, and since then, it has become famous all over the world. Selcuk Bairaktar, who is the designer of the drone and chairman and CTO of the Bekal company, said that after witnessing what Ukraine is going through, "the whole world is scrambling to procure the Bayrakartb2 attack drone."
Selcuk Balakta is both the elder brother of Hulk Bellak Tal and the son-in-law of Erdogeep in Turkey. In addition, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed on February 4 that Russia** Putin will soon make a visit to Turkey, which will be Putin's first foreign visit to the country since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Data map: Bakar TB2
The company's president, Haluk Bayraktar, said that the company is currently in the preparatory stage and is expected to be completed within 12 months, after which it will move to internal structure, equipment and organizational structure.
There is a large factory in Ukraine, and we intend to recruit about 500 workers. Haluk Bairaktar noted that the company can produce 120 drones a year, but he also said that it is not yet known that Ukrainian factories mainly make TB2 or TB3 drones.
Asked if safety concerns in Russia's invasion of Ukraine would affect the plant, he said the project was "in full swing" and that "nothing can stop them." ”
Baykar reportedly said it has signed contracts with 30 countries for the TB2 drone. According to the Stockholm think tank, since 2018, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Libya and Azerbaijan have signed contracts with this company for drones.
Haluk al-Bayraktar also said that a drone in Istanbul is intended to be manufactured in Saudi Arabia for two years. This statement comes after Turkey signed a deal with Saudi Arabia about "Bayraktar Akinci". Baykar said it was Turkey's largest defense contract ever.
Prior to this, Baykar said it intends to double the number of Bayraktar Akinci (Bayraktar) drones (36 units) and maintain its production of TB2 at about 230 units.
Saudi Arabia's "International Defense Exhibition" is initiated by the Saudi Military Industry Corporation and is expected to be held every two years. The first defense exhibition was held in 2022. Reuters said other military companies have also signed agreements with Saudi Arabia at this year's exhibition. Lockheed Martin, a U.S. company, signed a contract with Saudi companies on Feb. 5 to produce the parts needed for the product.