Ukraine and Turkey sign a Memorandum on constructing a UAV operation center

In the presence of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and Bayraktar Savunma on the construction and installation of a joint training and testing center for maintenance, repair, modernization of UAVs and training of personnel related to unmanned aerial vehicles and Bayraktar devices.

The Office of the President reported this.

On the Ukrainian side, the document was signed by Defense Minister Andrii Taran, and on the Turkish side, by Bayraktar CEO Haluk Bayraktar.

"We've been waiting for this moment for a long time. This is an important event for us," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after signing the Memorandum.

The President expressed his gratitude, personally and on behalf of the Ukrainian people, to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for supporting the implementation of this project.

"It's a big real step forward. I'm grateful to President Erdogan. This is real support for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine," the Ukrainian leader said.

According to the document, Bayraktar will build a service center, maintenance, and modernization of the company's unmanned aerial vehicles on the lands near Vasylkiv owned by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

The center will also train personnel who'll work with these UAVs. It is planned that several such centers will be built and operate in Ukraine later.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the next step will be to establish Ukrainian-Turkish production of UAVs. Bayraktar plans to invest its own funds in the construction of a drone plant in Ukraine, where Ukrainian specialists will work. This will create new jobs and provide revenue to the state budget.