Turkish drone maker Baykar and Azerbaijan signed a goodwill protocol Thursday on the joint manufacture of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems.
Haluk Bayraktar, the CEO of Baykar, and Deputy Defense Minister of Azerbaijan Agil Gurbanov signed the protocol during TEKNOFEST, Türkiye's premier aerospace and technology festival held at Istanbul's Atatürk Airport.
Ramiz Tahirov, the commander of Azerbaijan's Air Force, also attended the ceremony.
Speaking at the ceremony, Bayraktar pointed out that today there is very close and strong cooperation between Azerbaijan and Türkiye in unmanned aerial vehicle technology with the understanding of "one nation, two states."
"We are here today with Deputy Defense Minister of Azerbaijan Agil Gurbanov and Azerbaijan to further this cooperation. Together with Air Force Commander Ramiz Tahirov, we signed a joint goodwill protocol, and our goal is to further the strong cooperation between our countries," he said.
Bayraktar said that Bayraktar Technologies Azerbaijan was established by Baykar in the capital Baku to develop advanced generation technologies, autonomous technologies and artificial intelligence that support new generation technologies.
Baykar also introduced the mini smart cruise missile "Bayraktar Kemankeş" for the first time during the festival.
Speaking to Anadolu, Baykar Platform Engineering Team Leader Burak Özbek said Bayraktar Kemankeş has been developed to raise the attack capability of the Bayraktar TB2 against strategic targets.
He added that the missile could be integrated with all other UAVs that they developed in addition to the Bayraktar TB2.
Özbek said they are currently in the flight testing stage for the cruise missile, which they started working on last year, aiming to launch serial production in 2023.
With a weight of 35 kilograms (77 pounds), Bayraktar Kemankeş can fly for up to one hour.
As part of the TEKNOFEST festival, the 8th Istanbul International Invention Fair (ISIF'23) has started with inventions from 31 countries.
A total of 424 domestic and foreign inventions are set to be featured at ISIF'23.
The opening ceremony was held with the participation of Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank.
Varank said that young people and inventors would have the opportunity to showcase their work at the fair, which will bring inventors and investors together.
