Initially, construction, which began in February 2024, was scheduled to conclude by January 2025. However, Baykar is no longer certain it can meet this deadline, citing potential delays. Currently, approximately 80% of the facility is completed, yet an exact start date for production remains undetermined and may depend on developments in the ongoing war. The plant is now projected to be operational by August 2025.
This information comes from a statement by Baykar’s CEO to British news agency Reuters.
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The factory’s construction aligns with the implementation of a Memorandum signed between Turkey and Ukraine on March 8, 2024, in Istanbul, ensuring five years of defense-sector collaboration.
Once operational, the Ukrainian plant will manufacture Baykar’s TB2 and TB3 drones, the Akıncı UAV, and Kızılelma—a carrier-based drone with a higher payload capacity. The company expects to start serial production of 10 units next year.
At the start of construction, Bayraktar shared that the plant’s production capacity would reach 120 units annually. Baykar's new facility in Ukraine will cover more than 30,000 square meters and employ over 300 Ukrainian engineers and technicians.
Notably, Ukrainian engines are already used in the Akıncı and Kızılelma UAVs, and Baykar has signed an agreement with Ukraine’s Ivchenko-Progress to establish a joint engine production line. The Akıncı can be equipped with either the Ivchenko-Progress AI-450 engine, delivering 450 HP, or the 750-HP MS-500 engine from Motor Sich. The Kızılelma UAV can also be equipped with Motor Sich’s AI-25TLT turbojet engine, providing approximately 1,700 kgf of thrust.
Baykar has committed $300 million over the next five years toward developing a turboprop engine for the Akıncı and plans to produce a turbofan engine for the Kızılelma, which is currently undergoing flight testing.
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