Ukraine mulls to domestically produce Bayraktar drones to counter Russia amid ongoing war

Amidst a dearth of heavy combat weapons, Ukraine is now looking to produce Turkish Bayraktar drones. On Tuesday, the country’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that a bill to domestically produce the UAVs would be sent to the parliament (Verkhovna Rada). The Bayraktar TB2 drones were developed for the Turkish military in 2004 and have been operational since then. They are medium-altitude long-endurance vehicles, capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations.

Last month, Ankara gifted several Bayraktar TB2 to Ukrainian troops, eventually helping them to destroy Russian artillery and manned combat vehicles. In a statement posted later, the manufacturers noted that their crowdfunding campaign had raised enough money to buy several of its TB2 UAVs “for Ukrainians to use in defence of their Homeland”. “Baykar (Turkey's drone firm) will not accept payment for the TB2s, and will send 3 UAVs free of charge to the Ukrainian war front. We ask that raised funds be remitted instead to the struggling people of Ukraine," it said on Twitter. 

Lithuania, Norway to supply Bayraktar drones to Ukraine

Notably, Lithuania had separately signed an agreement with Turkey to purchase the unmanned aerial vehicle Bayraktar TB2 strike drones to be supplied to the Ukrainian army to deter Russia’s aggression. Taking on his official Twitter account, Turkish Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anusauskas said, "Agreement was signed in Turkey today with the President of the Turkish Defence Agency prof. Ismail Demir in cooperation with the Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania. This agreement paves the way for the purchase of Bayraktar.” 

In the latest development, Norway has initiated a fundraising campaign to buy Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones for Ukrainian armed forces amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. The decision of Norway came after Lithuania and Poland had made a similar move. The campaign website stated that Lithuania purchased a Bayraktar in three days and Poland bought three Bayraktars. The campaign website called on the people to make contributions and stressed that "Norway must do the same."

"Lithuania collected 1 Bayraktar in three days, Poland collected 3 Bayraktars and Ukraine collected 3 Bayraktars in a few days. Of course, Norway must do the same - at least!," the statement on the fundraising website read. 

(Image: Ukraine govt)