Amid a diversification strategy and the significant strides Türkiye has made over the past two decades in developing its defense industry, several Turkish companies are now working on expanding their footprint across geographies, thus further bolstering the sector’s development prospects.
At the forefront are firms such as the defense electronics giant Aselsan, which just less than a week ago announced the opening of an office in Latin America, namely in Santiago, the capital of Chile.
The office “will make a great contribution to Aselsan’s long-term potential cooperation in Latin America,” the company said.
The announcement was made at Chile’s International Air and Space Fair, FIDAE 2024, held between April 9-14, sponsored by InvestChile – the government agency responsible for promoting Chile in the global market.
The move follows the opening of an office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier this year, taken to respond to the needs of existing and potential Aselsan users in Emirati and the Gulf region.
From expansion in the Gulf and exports to dozens of countries in the Asia, Africa and Europe, to projects such as Milgem, which oversees the development of corvettes for Türkiye, as well as close allies such as Pakistan, the Turkish defense industry appears to be extending its footprint steadily.
Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol noted that the office opened in Chile will serve as the center for activities in Latin America and said, "We aim to develop our collaborations in Latin America with our office opened at a strategic point."
“We are working toward 2030 targets to make Aselsan revenue more than $4 billion, and to make half of the revenue from international activities,” Akyol told TRT World.
The latest expansion news comes on the heels of financial results that showed the company recorded a net profit of TL 7.4 billion, a whopping 520% year-over-year increase, and export contracts worth $601 million in 2023.
Its annual turnover rose by 10% to TL 73.6 billion, from TL 66.9 billion in the previous year, with gross profit surging 13% to TL 20.1 billion, according to its financial report from late March.
Aselsan’s global journey so far this year has also seen inaugural exports of its new drone optical technology and guidance kits.
All this serves as a strong indicator of the emphasis Türkiye has placed on the defense industry and indigenous production, aiming to reduce dependency on foreign suppliers.
Companies like Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), Aselsan, Roketsan, Baykar and FNSS Defense Systems play crucial roles in this regard.
From the maiden flight of Türkiye’s fifth-generation fighter jet KAAN to the recent series of successful test flights of the second prototype of Baykar’s latest Bayraktar TB3 drone and flight tests of Bayraktar Kalkan, a spy drone capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), the industry continues to develop further at full speed.
Furthermore, by participating in top defense fairs such as the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX 2024) and World Defense Show (WDS), Turkish defense firms are strategically positioning themselves as significant players in the global defense landscape, consistently showcasing the latest wares and keeping potential costumers updated with their work.
In a string of major developments, last month also saw Indonesia's military inducting into service the Modern Medium Weight Tank, also known as the MMWT, through a collaborative program between Turkish manufacturer FNSS and Indonesian manufacturer PT Pindad.
Over 10 units of the tanks, named Kaplan, or Tiger in Turkish, and Harimau in the Indonesian language of Bahasa, were handed over to the Indonesian military by Defense Minister and President-elect Prabowo Subianto, according to a statement by the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara.
The joint production of MMWT Kaplan/Harimau “reflected the recognition Indonesia gives to Turkish leadership in military technology in the world,” read the statement.
In addition to exports of the ground vehicles and drones that propelled the Turkish defense industry even higher, another domestic company recently exported two high-speed assault boats to Qatar, with three more in production, showing the country's continued export success in the Gulf.
The high-speed assault boats, known as "fast attack craft" by Turkish shipyard Dearsan, can be used for different missions such as asymmetric warfare, patrolling, protecting regional waters, combating maritime piracy, search and rescue missions and disaster relief operations, and are set to boost Qatari Emiri Navy.
At the same time, the manufacturer of Bayraktar drones, Baykar, has started building a factory near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv that will employ around 500 people and where it will manufacture either its TB2 or TB3 drone models, the company's CEO told Reuters earlier in February.
Through comprehensive efforts and leadership of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), the performance of the defense and aerospace industry was crowned with a record $5.5 billion worth of exports in 2023, up 27.1% year-over-year.
According to a recently published report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Türkiye's arms exports rose by 106% in the 2019-2023 period compared to 2014-2018, making the country the 11th largest seller in the world.
