Ukrainian-Turkish JV already has four defense projects - Bukin

A joint venture created by Ukrspecexport, part of the Ukroboronprom State Concern, and Turkey's Baykar Defence, already has four projects in the sphere of weapons and military equipment, Ukroboronprom CEO Pavlo Bukin has told Ukrinform.

"The logic of such cooperation is the following. In general, without disclosing any details, we have some kind of weapons, and the Turkish side has a lot of experience in electronics. We take our sample, and the Turkish side provides modern electronic systems. We create a new product. We already have four such projects," Bukin said.

According to him, production facilities will be located in Turkey, and the first projects will be implemented in the field of precision weapons.

"Creating this joint venture, we see specific prospects in specific cases. First and foremost, these are anti-tank systems and guided weapons. These will be new models jointly produced by Ukraine and Turkey. These products will have a great competitive ability," he said.

The prospect of cooperation in this project is to meet the needs of the armed forces of Ukraine and Turkey, as well as export to third-country markets.

"This joint venture is being created specifically for the joint development of new types of weapons and military equipment, their supply, first and foremost, to the armed forces of Ukraine and Turkey, and also for export. [...] This is, in fact, the first joint venture of Ukroboronprom with foreign partners. It is a full-fledged military company with the parity participation of two parties," Bukin said.

Ukraine's state-owned arms exporter Ukrspecexport and Turkish company Baykar Defence, one of the leading manufacturers of drones, have formed a joint venture in the field of precision weapons and aerospace technologies. The agreement was signed during the visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Turkey.

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