President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visits to defense software giant Havelsan – 22 years apart – illustrate the transformation of Türkiye's defense industry from a foreign license-based producer into a designer and exporter of advanced homegrown technologies.
Between Erdoğan's first visit in 2004 and his latest appearance on Tuesday, Türkiye's defense sector shifted from being largely an "assembler" and licensed manufacturer to a developer of indigenous systems and a technology exporter.
During his visit as prime minister, Erdoğan tested a full-flight simulator for the CN-235 transport aircraft developed by Havelsan. The aircraft itself had been co-developed by Spain's CASA and Indonesia's IPTN and was produced in Türkiye under license at Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) facilities.
That visit coincided with landmark 2004 decisions by the Defense Industry Executive Committee, which opted to prioritize domestic and national production over off-the-shelf procurement.
Those decisions laid the groundwork for many of the projects that define Türkiye's defense landscape today.
This Tuesday, Erdoğan attended the commissioning ceremony of the indigenous Sancar armed unmanned surface vessel (AUSV) and the groundbreaking and inauguration of new facilities expected to contribute to several flagship projects, including the national 5th-generation stealth fighter jet Kaan.
Ahead of the ceremony, Erdoğan toured a hangar where simulators for national air platforms are produced, including the jet trainer Hürjet, which is now being sold to Spain, and the utility helicopter Gökbey.
Havelsan develops and manufactures simulators for a wide range of domestic air, land and naval platforms, including systems already in the inventory of security forces as well as those nearing induction.
As part of the visit, Erdoğan was presented with a commemorative model illustrating his 2004 simulator flight, symbolizing the technological journey Türkiye has undertaken over the past two decades across air, land and naval domains.
In his speech, Erdoğan reflected on the transformation.
"I clearly remember the days 22 years ago when we experienced simulators of foreign air platforms at Havelsan and felt the limits of external dependence in every field," he said.
"Today, we can simulate our domestic and national platforms ourselves and manage critical processes with our own software and engineering."
Years of investment have helped Türkiye evolve from a country heavily reliant on foreign defense systems to one where domestically developed platforms meet almost all of its needs.
For much of the past two decades, Ankara has expressed frustration over its Western allies' failure to provide adequate defense systems against missile threats despite Türkiye being a NATO member.
The transformation since the early 2000s has driven the development of a broad range of homegrown air, land and naval platforms, reducing foreign dependency from around 80% to below 20% today.
The capabilities of its defense platforms, led by its combat drones, helped it seal billions of dollars' worth of deals in recent years.
Turkish defense industry's exports rose about 48% year-over-year in 2025 to a record of more than $10 billion.
More than 3,500 firms operate in the Turkish defense industry, boasting a workforce of about 100,000.
