Indonesia and Turkey form JV to build Baykar drones

Turkish company Baykar Technologies has signed a joint venture agreement with Indonesia’s PT Republikorp to locally manufacture uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV), according to a 12th February Republikorp press release. 

In a signing ceremony witnessed by the presidents of both countries, Prabowo Subianto and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the two companies will establish a manufacturing facility in Indonesia that will be able to produce, assemble and maintain up to 60 Bayraktar TB3 medium altitude long-endurance UAVs and 9 of the Akinci high-altitude long-endurance UAVs. 

Under the agreement, Baykar will take care of technology and expertise transfer, while Republikorp is set to ensure regulatory compliance, local certification, and infrastructure development. Indonesia is working to build a self-sustained and competitive defence industry and ecosystem, the press release states. 

Baykar had developed plans to locally manufacture the TB2 in Ukraine in partnership with Ukrspecexport, one of Ukraine’s state-backed defence export agencies. This came on the back of another JV with Baykar for the production of Ukraine’s Skif anti-tank guided missile. It was expected that Ukraine would manufacture up to 48 TBs domestically, which would reduce the price by around 35%, according to the head of Ukrspecexport Vadym Nozdrya at the time.

The TB3 is a more advanced version of the TB2 from Baykar, which was used extensively in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war; it has been modified so that it can take off and land from an aircraft carrier. Turkey is the first customer and it seems Indonesia may be the first export customer for the UAV. The Akinci has been deployed operationally by the Turkish armed forces and exported to several countries including Pakistan and the UAE. 

Calibre comment

Indonesia and Turkey have pre-established defence ties. The company FNSS has provided Indonesia with the Kaplan light tank and secured a further contract in 2024 for the development of an APC based on the same hull. High level talks between Subianto and Erdoğan took place in July 2024, where the two discussed wider defence cooperation including in the construction of frigates, 5th generation fighter jets, and drones from Baykar. The relationship is likely to grow so long as both presidents remain in power as it has been strengthened gradually over time. 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on 13th February 2025.