Türkiye and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture for the production and maintenance of ANKA unmanned aerial vehicles in Kazakhstan.
The agreement was signed in Astana in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, as part of a wider package of 13 agreements covering defense, energy, investment, education, media and infrastructure.
The signing followed Erdoğan’s meeting with Tokayev at the Palace of Independence and the sixth meeting of the Türkiye-Kazakhstan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.
ANKA Production and Maintenance in Kazakhstan
The defense agreement focuses on the establishment of a joint venture for ANKA UAV production and maintenance.
According to public information released after the signing, the facility will be established in Kazakhstan by Kazakhstan Engineering, the country’s state-owned defense manufacturer, and Turkish Aerospace Industries. With this step, Kazakhstan is set to become the first foreign country to manufacture ANKA UAVs.
This moves the ANKA cooperation beyond direct procurement and into a deeper industrial partnership model. The new structure is expected to support local production, maintenance capability, technology transfer and long-term sustainment for Kazakhstan’s UAV fleet.
A New Stage in Türkiye-Kazakhstan Defense Cooperation
The ANKA agreement is one of the most important defense industry outcomes of Erdoğan’s Astana visit.
The two countries also signed the “Declaration of Eternal Friendship and Partnership,” while other agreements covered investment protection, cultural centers, education, airport investment, hospital financing, media, oil and gas cooperation, and financial center cooperation.
For Kazakhstan, the ANKA production and maintenance facility can support domestic defense industry development and strengthen local UAV sustainment infrastructure.
For Türkiye, the agreement creates a permanent industrial presence for Turkish Aerospace in Central Asia and expands ANKA’s international footprint.
ANKA’s Role
Developed by Turkish Aerospace, ANKA is a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV family designed for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike-related missions.
The platform has become one of Türkiye’s key unmanned aerial systems and has been exported to multiple international users. The Kazakhstan facility will now add a new layer to the program by supporting production and maintenance outside Türkiye.
Strategic Importance
The agreement is strategically important for three reasons.
First, it strengthens Kazakhstan’s domestic UAV production and maintenance capability.
Second, it expands Türkiye’s defense industry cooperation model from product export to joint production and local sustainment.
Third, it gives Turkish Aerospace a stronger position in Central Asia, a region where demand for unmanned systems, surveillance capabilities and border security technologies continues to grow.
With the ANKA joint venture, Türkiye and Kazakhstan are turning defense cooperation into a long-term industrial partnership rather than a one-time procurement deal.
