Daily Sabah
June 2, 2022

Turkey to gift drone after Lithuanian fundraiser for Ukraine

Turkish drone magnate Baykar said Thursday that it would donate a Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) to Lithuania so that the funds its citizens had raised to buy one for Ukraine can be transferred for humanitarian aid.

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Baykar confirmed its donation in a Twitter post that included photographs of its CEO Haluk Bayraktar, chief technology officer (CTO) Selçuk Bayraktar and Lithuania’s Deputy Defense Minister Vilius Semaska with a drone at its premises.

Semeska met with Baykar representatives in Istanbul on Thursday, a day after meeting with the head of Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), Ismail Demir, in the capital Ankara.

“The people of Lithuania have honorably raised funds to buy a Bayraktar TB2 for Ukraine. Upon learning this, Baykar will gift a Bayraktar TB2 to Lithuania free of charge….”

Lithuania’s Defense Ministry also expressed gratitude in response to the gesture.

“Turkey will donate a #BayraktarForUkraine to Lithuania and we will ensure that this combat drone is fully armed prior to its transfer to Ukraine,” the ministry tweeted.

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Baykar will deliver the drone in a few weeks. It will be painted in the colors of the Lithuanian and Ukrainian flags, according to the ministry…

“We came to Turkey to agree on conditions for the drone purchase, but they prepared the most pleasant surprise possible for us,” Semaska said in a statement.

“It is unbelievable but Turkey just agreed to give the Bayraktar that Lithuania gathered money for and for free. It is amazing!” Lithuania’s Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said in a tweet.

“For the gathered money we will buy the needed ammunition for the Bayraktar and the rest of money will also go for support of Ukraine. Thank you Turkey,” Anusauskas wrote.

The Bayraktar TB2 has been such a decisive factor in the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Karabakh and now Ukraine, that it spearheads Turkey’s global defense export push.

Ukraine has bought more than 20 Bayraktar TB2 armed drones from Baykar in recent years and ordered a further 16 on Jan. 27. That batch was delivered in early March.