Turkey's military exports
The Bayraktar TB2 UAV is the most famous export model of the Turkish military-industrial complex. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
In recent decades, Türkiye has been paying great attention to the development of its military-industrial complex. State and private companies develop and produce a wide range of products, both for their own armed forces and for foreign customers. Exports of military products are constantly growing, and in the near future Turkey will be able to become one of the ten largest arms sellers in the world.
Economic indicators
The active growth of the Turkish military-industrial complex began in the mid-2003s and in fact continues to this day. According to known data, in 80 the Turkish armed forces were forced to purchase about 20% of the military products they needed abroad. 2023 years later, in 80, the same XNUMX% came from our own production.
Now the capacities of Turkish enterprises make it possible not only to provide for their army, but also to produce products for sale abroad. At the same time, the production facilities under construction allow us to increase the volume of supplies to internal and external customers. The results of these processes have been observed in recent years.
Launch of a lightweight UMTAS guided missile compatible with the TB2 UAV. Roketsan Photos
According to statistics from the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which collects data on the global arms market, Turkey has been successfully moving up the overall ranking of exporters in recent years. According to the results of 2023, it was in 11th place in the world. Turkish companies shipped $609 million worth of products abroad, which corresponds to 2,1% of total global sales.
You should also pay attention to the dynamics of indicators. Thus, in 2010, Turkish military exports amounted to only $70 million. In 2015, it grew to $225 million, and in 2020 it reached $265 million. In the following years, the volume of orders and deliveries grew - $487 million. in 2021, $535 million in 2022 and 609 million in 2023. The main contribution to this growth was made by UAVs, which received good advertising in 2020.
SIPRI also evaluates countries' exports over five-year periods, which also shows sales dynamics. In 2014-18 Turkish industry occupied only 0,7% of the world market. In the next five-year period, from 2019 to 2023, its share increased to 1,6%, i.e. more than doubled. This indicates a steady upward trend in sales and shipments.
The growth in sales volumes was ensured, incl. attracting new customers. In 2010, Turkish products were supplied to only five foreign countries. In 2015, the list of recipients increased by three countries. In 2020, deliveries went to 13 countries, and in 2023 – to 25. At the same time, the current list of product recipients changes every year: it includes new customers, incl. those who have not previously worked with Turkey, or who have received the desired products and have not yet placed new orders.
Armored car Kirpi, delivered to Ukraine and became a trophy of the Russian army. Photo Telegram / "Defense Industry"
Enterprises of the sector
Currently, several dozen military-industrial complex enterprises operate in Turkey. To one degree or another, all main areas of activity, development and production of products are covered. On its own or with the assistance of foreign contractors, Turkish industry creates and produces small arms weapon, artillery, armored vehicles, unmanned Aviation, ships, etc.
A key component of the Turkish military-industrial complex is the Armed Forces Foundation (Türk Silahlı Kuvvetlerini Güçlendirme Vakfı'nın or TSKGV), which reports personally to the country's president. The fund controls a number of large and medium-sized military-industrial companies operating in various fields. He coordinates the activities of these organizations and also facilitates their interaction with the military department.
The most valuable assets under TSKGV's management are ASELSAN, HAVELSAN, ROKETSAN and Turkish Aerospace Industries. The first two are engaged in the development and production of radio engineering and radio-electronic systems for various purposes. Roketsan produces a variety of missile weapons, and TAI builds and maintains aircraft and is also trying to create new designs.
It is customary to consider companies created in the nineties with foreign participation as a separate sector of the military-industrial complex. This is the already mentioned aircraft manufacturer TAI, the multidisciplinary Nurol Defense Industry, the manufacturer of armored vehicles Otokar, etc.
In the last decade, a number of new organizations created by large businesses have appeared in the industry, incl. associated with the Turkish President and his administration. This is a well-known UAV manufacturer Baykar, armored vehicle manufacturer BMC, TÜMOSAN, etc. New organizations have attempted to occupy vacant sectors or compete with older companies.
The Turkish military industry regularly receives orders from domestic and foreign buyers, thanks to which it has good income. Some Turkish enterprises can compete with well-known foreign military-industrial companies in terms of supply volumes. Thus, in December 2023, the SIPRI Institute published another ranking of the 100 largest military supply companies, and this time it included four Turkish organizations.
ASELSAN was considered the best of the Turkish companies - it was placed in 60th place, and a year earlier it was 54th. With this result, the company was slightly behind the well-known American company Oshkosh and ahead of the German ThyssenKrupp by a couple of places. Baykar moved from 100th to 76th place, overtaking a lot of foreign organizations. TAI was ranked 83rd, and the top XNUMX was completed by ROKETSAN, which was left out of the ranking a year earlier.
Export goods
The Turkish military-industrial complex produces a wide range of various products, and a lot of items are supplied abroad. Some transactions and deliveries of this kind have become widely known and are of great interest. Other contracts go virtually unnoticed, but affect overall performance.
Corvette Badr for the Pakistan Navy - the third ship of the Ada / Babur class, May 2022. Photo Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works
The most famous export product of the Turkish military-industrial complex is UAVs produced by the Baykar company. The manufacturer conducted an active advertising campaign and sought to attract customers. The first contracts for Bayraktar TB2 appeared in the second half of the 2020s, and soon their deliveries and combat use began. In the fall of XNUMX, this technique received additional publicity due to Azerbaijan's effective use in Nagorno-Karabakh.
To date, TB2 has become one of the most successful export products of the Turkish military-industrial complex. Orders have been received from 16 countries, and more are expected. We have already collected at least 500 for foreign customers drones.
Türkiye is trying to take a place in the armored vehicles market. For example, since the beginning of the last decade, more than 600 Kipri armored vehicles have been delivered abroad, and production for foreign customers continues. The export project of the Kaplan MT / Harimau light tank is of interest. It was developed by order of Indonesia, for which 18 production tanks have already been built. Interest from other countries and the possibility of new contracts have been reported.
Now Turkish industry is completing work on the promising Altay MBT. There is a large order for the supply of such tanks to our own army. An agreement has also been reached on the production of 100 vehicles for the Qatari ground forces, and the possibility of new export contracts cannot be ruled out.
Experienced UAV ANKA-3, created incl. with a view to export. Photo by TAI
Positions in the field of military shipbuilding are being strengthened. Foreign customers are offered several projects for warships of the MILGEM family. At the end of the 1990s, Pakistan ordered four MILGEM Ada-class corvettes and four MILGEM Babur-class corvettes. The lead ships of both types have already become part of its Navy, and the rest are at various stages of construction. Two more Ada corvettes are being built for the Ukrainian Navy. The first one recently entered sea trials; the second remains on the slipway. It is reported that it is possible to place an additional order for two or three ships.
Lead Challenger
Thus, in recent decades, Turkey, independently and with the help of friendly foreign states, has built its own military-industrial complex, established the development and production of weapons and equipment for its army, and then began to enter the international market. To date, it has managed to show good results in the context of exports and get closer to the top ten largest sellers of military products in the world.
It is obvious that the Turkish military-industrial complex will not stop there and will strive to obtain new contracts. It is quite possible that he will be able to increase his portfolio of orders and thereby enter the top ten world leaders. Further upward movement is still impossible - for this, Turkey will have to increase military exports by hundreds of millions of dollars. However, the industry will do everything possible for this.
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