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Saudi in pact with Turkey to localise drone production

By Pramod Kumar
SAMI
The agreement aims to enhance the readiness of Saudi armed forces and bolster the kingdom’s defence and manufacturing capabilities

Saudi Arabia has signed an agreement with Turkish defence firm Baykar Tech to localise the manufacturing of drones in the kingdom.

“The agreement aims to enhance the readiness of the armed forces and bolster the kingdom’s defence and manufacturing capabilities in line with Vision 2030,” state-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries (Sami) posted on messaging platform X, formerly Twitter.

Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to buy Baykar drones during Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to the kingdom last month.

At the same time, Baykar said in a statement that the agreement with the kingdom includes cooperation in technology transfer and joint production.

Last year, the drone manufacturer’s exports reached $1.18 billion, with its turnover at $1.4 billion.

The company has signed export pacts with 30 countries for its Bayraktar TB2 combat drone and six countries for the bigger Bayraktar Akinci combat drone.

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