Ukraine will build its own Bayraktar drones, Leopard 2 tanks

The country may not be a NATO member yet, but that doesn’t mean Ukraine can’t make some sweet deals with its future NATO allies. Defense contractors from Germany and Turkey are moving ahead with plans to build factories in western Ukraine.

Turkish manufacturer Baykar will be building drones in Ukraine soon. Ukraine Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin made the announcement about the new facility during a broadcast on Ukrainian television.

“The plant has actually started to be built, rather than just being a memorandum,” Kamyshin said. “This is the huge Bayraktar facility that we agreed on a few years ago. Back then, there were interruptions and scandals. The plant is now starting to be built, and we have taken real steps.”  

Kamyshin said the new Baykar factory will initially focus on producing the Bayraktar TB2 drones.

Twenty-four countries use the battle-tested TB2. It can stay airborne for 27 hours and carries up to 330 pounds of munitions. The TB2 was a fundamental piece to stopping the Russian onslaught in the early days of the war. The drones are so popular in Ukraine, there’s even a song about them.

The deal between Turkey and Ukraine also includes production of another piece of hardware that is yet to be identified. Baykar uses Ukrainian engines for several of its drones, like the Akinci, which is much larger than the TB2. The Akinci has a much higher ceiling than the TB2, and can carry about 10 times the weight.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Turkey on July 8, and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Turks. Ukrainian media reported the memorandum promotes cooperation in strategic industries and technologies between Ukraine and Turkey, as well as supporting the implementation of existing projects and launching new ones.

Germany’s Rheinmetall is also moving forward with plans to build an armored vehicle plant in Ukraine. Armin Papperger, the company’s CEO, said the plant will be open within the next three months. The facility will be operated under a partnership with Ukroboronprom, a state-owned defense group in Ukraine.

“Ukrainians have to help themselves. If they always have to wait for Europeans and Americans to help them over the next 10 or 20 years, that is not possible,” Papperger said in an interview with CNN.

The 200-million-euro factory will be built in the western part of Ukraine, away from the frontlines. Papperger said the plant will have capacity to produce 400 Leopard 2 tanks annually but will also produce other armored vehicles like the Fuchs APC. The factory will also be used as a maintenance center to repair the armored vehicles Ukraine already uses.

Former Russian president and current Putin pawn Dmitry Medvedev threatened to strike the factory if Rheinmetall went through with its construction plans. Papperger dismissed the threats, suggesting the site could be protected by an air defense system, which Rheinmetall also makes.

“There are a lot of factories at the moment which are producing military goods [in Ukraine]. It is just another one, and we can protect that also,” Papperger told CNN.