Saudi Arabia Shows Interest in Turkish KAAN Fighter, KIZILELMA Drone

A Saudi Arabian delegation led by Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman Al-Saud visited Turkey to explore defense technologies, including detailed information on the KAAN fighter jet and Kizilelma combat drone.

The delegation visited two Turkish defense companies, TUSAŞ and BAYKAR. At TUSAŞ, they were briefed on the KAAN fighter jet project. At BAYKAR, they examined various products, including the Kizilelma Unmanned Combat Aircraft and the Kemankeş 2 Mini Smart Cruise Missile.

The discussions during the visit focussed on the supply of defense equipment needed by Saudi Arabia and potential areas for technology transfer. This visit comes in the context of Saudi Arabia's significant investments in both the development and supply aspects of the defense industry, aiming to achieve substantial competence in the sector by 2023 as part of the 'Saudi Vision 2030'.

Recently, BAYKAR set a new export record for Turkey by exporting Bayraktar AKINCI Attack Unmanned Aerial Vehicles worth over $3 billion to Saudi Arabia. This deal is also beneficial for other Turkish defense companies like Roketsan and ASELSAN, which will export various products included and excluded from the package.

In a related development, Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) announced on July 4 the signing of three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Turkish companies. SAMI agreed with BAYKAR to establish manufacturing capabilities and develop systems for unmanned aerial vehicles in Saudi Arabia. They also agreed with ASELSAN to explore opportunities for developing defense electronics technologies and signed a preliminary agreement with Fergani Space for the development of emerging technologies to serve the global space sector.