BY KERIM ULKER
Turkey and Ukraine have agreed to jointly manufacture new generation unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Oleksiy Arestovych.
Speaking in a televised interview with the national Ukrainian language broadcaster 1+1, Arestovych said the two countries will jointly produce ANKA UAVs and UCAVs developed by the aerospace company Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) as well as new generation jet UAVs.
The drones, which will be manufactured near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, will fly before the end of this year.
ANKA UAVs and UCAVs are developed by the aerospace company Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in line with the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). ANKA combat drones, meanwhile, have been equipped with missiles such as Cirit and Umras missiles, produced by the weapons manufacturer ROKETSAN AS.
The demand for Turkish UAVs and UCAVs has increased in the recent period. While ANKA drones are used by the countries such as Kazakhstan and Tunisia, European countries such as Serbia and Slovakia have asked to add Bayraktar UCAVs manufactured by the defense firm BAYKAR to their fleet.
