CAIRO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia signed a strategic agreement with Turkish defence firm Baykar Tech to localise the manufacturing of drones in the kingdom, state-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI)posted on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.
The agreement "will enhance SAMI’s role in supporting the national defence industry and strengthening our local capabilities," SAMI said.
In July, Saudi Arabia agreed to buy Turkish drones from Baykar in the biggest defence contract in Turkey's history.
Investments and funding from the Gulf have helped relieve pressure on Turkey's economy and its currency reserves since 2021, when Ankara launched a diplomatic effort to repair ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Turkey had been at odds for years with the two Gulf states over Ankara's support of pro-democracy movements in the Middle East and North Africa and the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
Source: REUTERS
Bayraktar KIZILELMA, Baykar’s unmanned fighter aircraft renowned for its unprecedented achievements in global aviation history, has successfully completed a test flight focused on smart fleet autonomy. During the test conducted in Çorlu, KIZILELMA prototypes PT3 and PT5 carried out a formation flight with an autonomous combat pilot, supported by smart fleet algorithms. This marked the first time in the history of global aviation that two unmanned fighter aircraft performed a close formation flight autonomously.
Bayraktar TB3, which recently made history by becoming the world’s first armed unmanned aerial vehicle to take off and land on a short-runway vessel, successfully completed its first firing test with the MAM-T munition to hit its target with pinpoint accuracy.
Türkiye’s unmanned fighter jet, the Bayraktar Kızılelma, completed its fourth test, the System Identification Test, a high-ranking official from the developing company said Saturday.
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