THE Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamushin announced her start of factory construction on national television, Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform reports.

“The construction works of the factory in Ukraine have already begun. It is a large factory Bayraktar, for which there was an agreement a few years ago, but then there were delays. Today this factory is under construction,” he said. Camusin also added that the recently signed cooperation memorandum with Turkey also refers to “another production,” which he said he could not talk about at the moment.

It is expected that the construction of the plant will take about two years. Bayraktar TB2 attack drones, Akıncı heavy drone and Kızılelma combat drone will be assembled at the factory. Part of the drones in question will be equipped with Ukrainian-made engines.

On July 8, during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesny to Turkey, a memorandum of understanding in the field of strategic industries was signed between the two countries. The document aims to promote cooperation in strategic industries and technologies between Ukrainian and Turkish companies and to support the implementation of existing projects and the launch of new ones in these areas.

Areas of cooperation include the development of capabilities and opportunities related to the production of autonomous vehicles, especially unmanned vehicles, increasing the production of various types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), research and development in the field of autonomous systems, space and others technological sectors of the strategic industries of the two countries, as well as other types of technological cooperation necessary for the development of strategic industries.