Türkiye’s share in world’s defence industry exports increased from 0.6percent to 1.1percent between 2018 and 2022. It made the country the 12th largest arms exporter in the world. Its imports have decreased by 49 percent.
The annual list of the 100 best defence companies of 2022 released by the international news website site Defence News includes three Turkish companies. Aselsan ranked 49th on the list, while Turkish Aerospace Industry (TAI) ranked 67th and Roketsan ranked 86th.
Similarly, a report on international arms exports in 2022, prepared by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), showed that Türkiye’s arms exports increased by 69percent in four-year from 2018 to 2022, compared to the period between 2013 and 2017.
Turkish defence companies will see ups and downs in performance as the sector expands during these challenging times. However, it is almost certain that the Turkish defence industry will continue to grow albeit at a slow pace.
In 2004, only 20 percent of the Turkish army’s equipment was from Turkish companies. By 2022, it increased to 80 percent.
The Turkish government’s decision to localise the arms sector has made this major shift a major success. Since then, Turkish companies have created rifles, armoured vehicles, MANPADs, artillery, various types of missiles with a range of up to 1,000 km, helicopters, light attack aircraft, and most importantly, advanced drones, which have become famous all over the world.
On the other hand, Türkiye is now getting closer to manufacturing fighter jets, tanks, and howitzers, which could bring additional revenues. All these weapons of complex and advanced manufacturing will be in use by 2028, according to the assurances given by the producing companies.
Turkish manufacturers of missiles, ships, drones, military vehicles and software also market their products, which do not contain foreign parts, internationally. The demand is increasing.
As far as its entire defence sector is concerned, Türkiye has risen in the global rank due to its smaller and less expensive weapons, the majority of which are manufactured in the country.
For example, Turkish manufacturers of drones and missiles are self-reliant and foreign embargoes cannot affect their manufacturing. They are free to produce and sell their weapons in the global market. Türkiye may become a major defence industry exporter with an income of more than $4 billion due to the authenticity and quality of its weapons.
Türkiye may soon be ranked among the top ten countries in arms exports and reach the threshold of $20 billion in export revenues in the next ten years. As a result, in addition to its achieving self-sufficiency in arms, it will also create new jobs and revenues, not to mention its impact on Turkish foreign policy.
The Turkish defence industrial sector has already entered the global racetrack. Therefore, it is imperative that military industry companies should try to keep the country at the forefront of weapons producers and sellers of the world.
[by Ibrahim Karatas in TRT Arabi]
Compiled and translated by Faizul Haque