Turkey to mass produce unmanned fighter jets in 2023: Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on Sunday that Turkey will begin mass-producing Bayraktar Kizilelma, its first unmanned fighter aircraft, in late 2023.

Ground tests of the Bayraktar Kizilelma were announced by the country's drone maker, Baykar, in November. The aircraft, which carries a turbofan engine, has the advantage of a short take-off and landing capability, which gives it a greater advantage of operating from aircraft carriers with a small deck, such as the Turkish navy's Anadolu amphibious assault ship.

Back in February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that his country signed an agreement with Turkey to significantly expand the manufacturing of the Bayraktar unmanned combat aerial vehicles in Ukraine.

Vasyl Bodnar, Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey, said in August that a Baykar factory, the Turkish company which produces the Bayraktar attack drones, is underway in Ukraine. Bodnar said that "The factory will be built. Just a week ago, the government approved the bilateral agreement and sent it to the parliament for ratification, the agreement on the construction of the plant itself."

Baykar has received requests for the procurement of Bayraktar TB2 combat drones from 24 countries, including European and East Asian states, according to the firm's technical director in August, following the meeting with Zelensky. One of these countries is the UAE.