Thirteen agreements were signed between the two nations in the presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The most prominent clause for the defence industry involves the establishment of a joint venture for the production and maintenance of ANKA Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
A New Production Hub for ANKA
Developed by TAI and serving in the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) inventory for many years, the ANKA platform will gain production and maintenance capabilities in Kazakhstan through this agreement. The deal moves beyond the direct sale of off-the-shelf systems, focusing instead on a joint production model. This structure will provide technology transfer and local maintenance capabilities to Kazakhstan, while securing a permanent presence for TAI in the Central Asian market.
Strategic Position of the ANKA Platform
ANKA is a family of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAVs. Beyond its reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition roles, it has proven its effectiveness in the field with its armed variants. To date, the platform has secured users in various geographies, including Türkiye, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Chad.
Given Kazakhstan's vast geographical landscape, ANKA’s long-endurance capability offers a critical advantage for border security and infrastructure protection. The maintenance infrastructure to be established through the joint venture will increase the operational readiness rate of the platform, enabling more effective deployment.
The Wider Scope of the 13 Agreements
The thirteen agreements signed demonstrate that bilateral relations extend beyond defence, covering a wide range of cooperation from trade and energy to agriculture and transport. However, the ANKA agreement stands out due to its concrete joint production model.
Details regarding production volume, timeline, facility location, and financial structure have not yet been disclosed. Future announcements are expected to further clarify the scope and scale of this cooperation.
