Insight Turkey
Insight Turkey
Challenging ideas
On Turkish politics and International affairs

Author

İsmail Demir

President of Defense Industry, Turkey
İsmail Demir
Transformation of the Turkish Defense Industry: The Story and Rationale of the Great Rise
September 22, 2020
Tracing the evolution of the Turkish defense industry through five major periods of development, this article draws attention to crucial turning points such as the Cyprus crisis of 1974, the establishment of SAGEB in 1985, the ongoing fight against terrorism, the restructuring of the Turkish political system and the steadfast commitment of the AK Party governments under President Erdoğan to invest in Turkey’s indigenous defense industry. Since the early 2000s, the Turkish defense industry has shifted from a procurement model largely dependent on foreign imports to a far more self-reliant model with a strong research and development foundation and a growing number of exports. Thanks to the commitment, determination and resilience of Turkey’s engineers, technicians, workers and companies, the Turkish defense industry has transformed into a multi-billion-dollar industry characterized by technological depth and global effectiveness.

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