Can Kasapoğlu

Insight Turkey coordinated a panel with the contribution of distinguished speakers, in which a comprehensive framework of Turkey's Defense Industry transformation and the changing patterns of military strategy were discussed.

As the incumbent Turkish administration strives to pursue more aspiring goals in foreign affairs, Turkeys military policy is fast developing in line with this vision. The nations defense technological and industrial base can now produce various conventional weaponry. Of these, without a doubt, Turkeys drone warfare assets have garnered the utmost attention among the international strategic community. In tandem, the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) have gradually gained an expeditionary posture with forward deployments across a broad axis, ranging from the Horn of Africa to the Gulf and the Mediterranean. Turkeys proxy warfare capabilities have also registered an uptrend in this respect. Nevertheless, Ankara will have to deal with certain limitations in key segments, particularly 5th generation aircraft and strategic weapon systems which, together, represent a severe intra-war deterrence gap in Turkeys defense posture. The Turkish administration will have to address this specific shortfall given the problematic threat landscape at the nations Middle Eastern doorstep. This study covers two interrelated strategic topics regarding Turkeys national military capacity in the 21st century: its defense technological and industrial base (DTIB) and its military policy, both currently characterized by a burgeoning assertiveness.