Turkey developing defense industry

By Kamila Aliyeva

Defense industry is developing dynamically in Turkey, and currently the country’s dependence on the external supplies of military products is 40 percent, Turkish Undersecretary for Defense Industry Ismail Demir said.

He noted that Turkey manufactured military products worth $5.9 billion in 2016, Turkish media reported.

“Turkey exported military products worth $1.7 billion in 2016,” Demir said.

He went on to add that currently, Turkey plans to implement about 500 projects in the sphere of defense industry.

A total budget value of these projects will amount to 123 billion liras.

Just 15 years ago, Turkey's defense industry was 80 percent externally dependent, while today that rate has dropped to the level of 40 percent.

Defense sector has shown a considerable growth in the last couple of years, with almost all leading arms companies developing new prototypes mostly along with Western partners. 

Turkey’s defense and aerospace exports rose from around $900 million in 2011 to $1.7 billion last year although its exports in 2016 remained largely flat from $1.65 billion in 2015, (a rise of only 1.4 percent), mainly due to problems that hit the country’s exports overall.