Bangladesh signs defence deal with China to start manufacturing drones locally

The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) has signed an agreement with the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation International (CETC) to build a drone manufacturing and assembly plant in Bangladesh, along with technology transfer, the military’s media wing ISPR said in a statement.

Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan attended the signing ceremony along with CETC officials and other defence officials at the BAF headquarters in the capital, Dhaka, according to ISPR late on Tuesday.

Under the agreement, BAF and CETC International will jointly set up a state-of-the-art UAV manufacturing and assembly facility in Bangladesh.

The air force said the UAVs will play a significant role in humanitarian assistance and disaster management in addition to military activities.

“This defence pact will be expanded to achieve complete self-reliance in domestic UAV production, which will be helpful in meeting national and international needs. At the same time, it will also make a significant contribution to national technological progress through specialised training, knowledge exchange and building a skilled aerospace workforce,” the statement said.

This agreement also includes capacity building, industrial skills development and joint technical cooperation, which will “help achieve self-reliance in UAV production in the long term.”

BAF will initially acquire the capacity to produce and assemble various types of Medium Altitude Low Endurance (MALE) UAV and Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) UAV.