Turkish defense industries, a system that rejects dependency

Turkey continues its efforts in developing the defense industries sector and strengthening its position among countries, as the defense industries in Turkey ranked first in government expenditures on research and development, to become one of the 15 countries that spend most on military technology as part of the state's plan to get rid of the bill to buy weapons and military equipment And among some of the conditions that may be imposed by the exporting countries, and despite all the obstacles placed in front of them, 4 giant Turkish companies succeeded in being among the top 100 companies that produce military equipment in the world, until they became an important tributary of the economy after it was promoted in Aso S export.

anti-terrorism

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan explained that, had it not been for the important projects undertaken by Turkey in the field of defense industries during the past 17 years, it would not have been able to combat terrorist organizations inside the country, let alone achieve successes abroad, saying, “These successes are the fruit of tired work and effort.” Hard work and great sacrifices for a long time.

17 years effort

He added: “Sales increased during 2002 from one billion dollars to about 9 billion dollars at the present time, and expenditures on research and development amounted to 1.5 billion at the present time while the number was very small 17 years ago, stressing that reliance on the local industry is a prerequisite in Defense industries.

In a statement last November, the Turkish President said that his country today manufactures 70% of its military and defense needs with purely local capabilities and capabilities.

He added that the ultimate goal is to reach 100% in the local defense and military industries, and the Turkish president expressed his hope to see the local combat fighter in the air, by 2023 AD.

Fifth-generation war plane

The Director General of the Air Electronic Industries Company (Hualsan), Ahmed Hamdi Atalay, stated that there is a partnership with the defense industries, the Air Force, and the Air and Space Industries Company (Tusac) to implement the new domestic fighter project, which is a pride for Turkey, noting that there are several countries producing such This kind of aircraft and that Turkey will also join these countries.

He pointed out that "programming in the plane system consists of about 20 million lines, and includes hundreds of software that work together, and therefore the fighter can be considered a" flying computer ", and Hualsan company is one of the main players in the project, and added," We have great experience in producing software and aligning it to work together With high efficiency, and that our capabilities in the field of aircraft simulation will make important contributions to the national fighter project, being one of the largest companies in the world in the aircraft simulation sector.

"We have produced simulation models for many aircraft such as F-16, training aircraft, and helicopters, as well as many different land vehicles," he said.

Armed drones

The Turkish Aerospace and Industries Company "Tocas" announced, in a statement, a Turkish-made "Phoenix" plane for the tasks of monitoring, monitoring and detection of fixed and mobile targets and intelligence visualization.

And Turkey is one of 6 countries in the world, having the ability to produce armed drones equipped with smart bombs, and advanced electronic systems, after the United States, Israel, China, Pakistan and Iran.

Two billion dollars exports

The Turkish Manufacturers of Defense and Air Industry Association said in a previous statement that the sales of land-based military platforms had the largest share, while air military weapons came in second place, and arms, ammunition and missiles ranked third in defense sector sales, and that exports to abroad reached 1.8 One billion dollars, including 635 million dollars for the United States and 464 million dollars to European countries.

Increasing foreign demand

The company “Asilsan”, which was established in 1975, manufactures a wide range of defense industrial products that managed to achieve successful financial results in 2019, and continued to grow in 2020 with requests for $ 320 million, the company meets the need of the Turkish army in terms of strengthening And the protection of the high-speed wireless data network within the framework of enhancing the electronic warfare capabilities of the Turkish Armed Forces in terms of national, fixed, backlinked, fixed and wireless radio radios. In addition to exporting abroad, the company has established a factory for remote control weapons systems in Konya, with an investment value of $ 65 million.

Military projects budget

It is noteworthy that the Turkish President said in a statement that the number of military projects was only 62 in 2002, while the number now approached 700 projects, and the defense industries budget rose from $ 5.5 billion in 2002 to reach 11 times over the past 17 years and reached 60 billion . ”

The President indicated that if the projects that were currently being worked on were added, the budget would reach $ 75 billion.