Türkiye's defense and aviation exports rose about 48% year-over-year to surpass $10 billion (TL 430 billion) in 2025, according to a top official on Saturday, thus breaking a new threshold for the sector.
"We are completing 2025 at $10.05 billion with an increase of approximately 48%," head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) Haluk Görgün said, recalling that exports from the sector stood at $7.1 billion in 2024.
His remarks came following the announcement of Türkiye’s foreign trade data for 2025 at a ceremony held at the Istanbul Congress Center, attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Görgün said they were very happy due to the export figures, adding: "It was a year in which records were broken both in overall export figures for our country and in the defense industry."
Explaining that they continued by breaking records every month in 2025 compared to the previous year, Görgün said a historic record was reached in December, with defense and aviation exports exceeding $2.5 billion.
He reported that defense and aviation exports consisted of $9.87 billion in goods and $184 million in services.
"When we examine the approximately 47%-48% growth achieved in 2025 in terms of the new contracts we signed, we also see it as an increase of nearly 80%," he further explained.
"We completed exports at $7.1 billion in 2024, and we are completing 2025 at $10.05 billion with an increase of approximately 48%. When we look at the creation of backlog orders in terms of signed contracts, we completed 2024 with $10 billion in new contracts, while we completed 2025 with $17.8 billion, that is, a growth of 78%," he maintained.
Similarly, Görgün stated that the increase in exports in the defense industry could be expressed more clearly by looking at its share in Türkiye’s total exports.
"In 2022, we made exports worth $4.4 billion, and the share of defense and aviation exports in Türkiye’s total exports was 1.7%. At the point we have reached today, the share of defense and aviation exports in Türkiye’s total exports has reached 3.7%," he suggested.
He drew attention to the fact that this export performance is made possible by companies producing qualified and cost-effective products and by the support and assurance they provide after the sale.
He also recalled that they shared many new contracts and significant achievements with the public last year.
"We signed a military ship export contract with Portugal. Towards the end of the year, we signed the contract for the Hürjet training aircraft with Spain, one of the world's leading countries in aviation. In June, we signed the Kaan contract with Indonesia. An Offshore Patrol Vessel contract was signed with Romania," he noted.
Explaining that many unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) contracts were signed in the Gulf and Africa regions, along with munitions contracts, Görgün emphasized that they closed 2025 with a new contract record of $17.8 billion.
He also said they see 2026 as a year in which deliveries will increase and new records will be broken.
“When we look at the countries we mainly exported to last year, four of the top 10 countries were European countries and one was the United States. When we look at the overall ratio, approximately $5.6 billion of the $10 billion in exports, that is 56%, went to the European Union, NATO countries and the United States," the SSB head said.
"Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa were the regions that followed," he added.
Emphasizing that dynamic production processes, the efforts of the sector, a young human resource pool, and reliable after-sales support fuel exports, Görgün stated that these factors are a harbinger of new sales in the coming years.
