President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye would implement all means to permanently end terrorism, as he reiterated the country’s determination to boost its defense capabilities and self-sufficiency and vowed to work harder despite all attempts to threaten the country.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Gökbey helicopter’s delivery ceremony at the state-run aerospace and defense giant Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) on Oct. 29 Republic Day, Erdoğan said terrorist attacks such as the latest one on TAI last week, will not hamper Türkiye’s resolve and determination in anti-terror fight.
“We’re not overcome by languor regarding the elimination of terrorist threat at its root,” the president said, adding that no power can stop Türkiye from eliminating all threats.
Noting that Türkiye dealt a serious blow to the PKK terrorist group, Erdoğan said the Turkish military is clearing its borders and will continue to pursue this goal until the terrorist threat is eliminated.
“Our 40-year experience has shown us that the real goal of terrorism is to undermine brotherhood of the nation,” Erdoğan said.
Highlighting the importance of domestically-developed defense technologies, Erdoğan said Türkiye has become a self-sufficient country, by boosting the capacity of its indigenously developed defense industry from 20% to 80%.
This has allowed Türkiye to independently carry out its fight against terrorism, according to the president, who pointed to the country’s UAVs, UCAVs, and other technologies.
“We do not seek anyone’s permission when taking steps related to our national security,” Erdoğan said, adding that Türkiye would further boost defense capabilities.
The development of the “Steel Dome,” an indigenous multi-layered air defense system that features a network-centric and AI-supported multi-platform-integrated shield across large swaths of land, seeking to provide an impenetrable defense over Turkish airspace, is vital to prevent terrorist infiltration and other attacks, according to Erdoğan, who added that Türkiye would also boost its long-range missile capabilities.
For years, Ankara has voiced frustrations over its Western allies' failure to provide adequate defense against missile threats despite Türkiye being a NATO member. It eventually took delivery of the advanced S-400 missile defense system made by Russia, a cooperation it hoped could help it develop its own defense program.
That triggered a major row with the United States, which Ankara says had first failed to supply it with the Patriot system. In response to its 2019 receipt of the Russian system, Washington barred Türkiye from buying and working on the multinational F-35 fighter jet program.
The "Steel Dome Project," approved by the Defense Industry Executive Committee, and chaired by Erdoğan, aims to integrate multiple layers of domestic air defense systems, sensors, and weapons under a unified network structure.
It will feature real-time data delivery to operation centers and leverage artificial intelligence technologies to support decision-makers.
