Yaşar GÜLER, Minister of National Defence of Türkiye

Türkiye has significantly increased its national production capabilities in land, maritime and aerial systems with its recent initiatives; and has recorded remarkable progress in building a self-sufficient defence industry with the projects related to the production and modernization of corvettes and national war ships including ALTAY Main Battle Tank, GÖKBEY helicopter and MİLGEM project. Furthermore, we have also advanced in some critical defence projects such as long-range air defence systems (SİPER), missile technologies and electronic warfare systems.

In recent years, we have been going through an unprecedented era rife with political, military, economic and social transformations across the globe and around Türkiye in particular.

In such a critical period when tensions have been regionally and globally rising and conflicts have been increasingly turning into wars, the extent of instability and uncertainty is getting more alarming. This makes defence and security issues much more vital as never before.

Throughout these challenging times, Türkiye has succeeded in expanding its sphere of influence globally thanks to our Honourable President’s bold actions with his strategic foresight and powerful leadership in defence and security areas. Our Nation, with the military and diplomatic steps and an active role it has undertaken on both regional and global scale, has reinforced its position as a critical actor on the world stage.

Meanwhile, Our Turkish Armed Forces, as one of the most powerful armies in the world, have been successfully engaged in its growing missions and responsibilities in such an environment where our Nation has further advanced its standing.

In this respect, our heroic army has been performing its counter-terrorism operations within our country and beyond our borders with the utmost resolution and determination at an ascending level. Especially, our army has inflicted heavy losses on terrorist groups pursuing futile efforts to create a terrorist corridor along our southern borders

with its large-scale and comprehensive operations aimed at destroying such a corridor. With these operations performed in line with the strategy to eliminate terrorism at its source, our National Armed Forces have strengthened our national security and contributed greatly to the maintenance of regional stability as well.

In addition to positive and promising outcomes of these counter-terrorism operations, our national security along our borders has been safeguarded at the highest level and smuggling activities have been thwarted with the effective and enhanced security measures that we take. Such measures are exemplary for many other countries as well. Turkish maritime control has been enhanced with our intense efforts to maintain peace, security and stability in the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Seas.

It is mandatory for us to remain a developed country in all fields with powerful armed forces to maintain our national survival and interests in a region of high geostrategic Importance.

In this context, the importance of national security and domestic and national defence industry, which is an inseparable part of the former, is rising.

Our “National Technology Initiative,” which we have started and assigned a particular focus to, is essential in terms of both our national sovereignty and independence and also geopolitical and strategic situation of our country.

Our growth in the defence industry has not only enabled our national security but also let us enjoy a huge accomplishment on a global scale.

Thanks to the large-scale projects which have lately been completed via local and national initiatives, our country has become a key actor in the field of defence industry.

Our unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAVs) notably, Bayraktar TB-2, Akıncı, Anka and Aksungur, which are now all world-renowned systems, have become a source of pride for us with their outstanding achievements in operation fields. Due to their strategic advantages in fields, these aircraft are globally demanded and many countries utilise them in their national defence capabilities.

Besides these aircraft, our unmanned combat aerial systems, Kızılelma and Anka-3, which have currently been developed, will contribute to our efforts to lead future warfighting applications.

Indeed, our achievements in the field of defence industry are not only limited to aerial vehicles.

Türkiye has significantly increased its national production capabilities in land, maritime and aerial systems with its recent initiatives; and has recorded remarkable progress in building a self-sufficient defence industry with the projects related to the production and modernization of corvettes and national war ships including ALTAY Main Battle Tank, GÖKBEY helicopter and MİLGEM project. Furthermore, we have also advanced in some critical defence projects such as long-range air defence systems (SİPER), missile technologies and electronic
warfare systems.

As another important initiative in the defence industry, our national projects aimed at improving Turkish maritime presence have become prominent. Corvettes produced within the framework of MİLGEM Project have contributed to the power of our National Maritime Forces while our submarine defence capabilities have been further enhanced thanks to the MİLDEN Project, which is a National Submarine project. İ-class frigates and other maritime defence systems have increased Türkiye’s strategic influence in seas and have a key role in our efforts to preserve regional stability. At this point, we particularly should underscore TCG Anadolu, which serves as a flagship of our National Maritime Forces with its advanced capabilities.

We can also mention the ongoing development of our national production capacity for ammunition and missile technologies as another important achievement that Türkiye has scored in the defence industry. Our missile systems, which are increasingly improved day after day, are an important component of the strength of our national defence industry. Moreover, reinforcing our air defence systems with national production attempts has greatly contributed to the air space protection capability of Türkiye.

Türkiye meets its defence requirements thanks to these accomplishments and welcomes any opportunities to cooperate with other friendly and allied nations in sharing these technologies as well.

This success in the defence industry is an outcome of the projection of our field experiences into the production development processes and close cooperation in the Industry.

The maintenance of such synergy is essential for a sustainable local and national defence industry ecosystem. We will spare no effort to move forward this synergy by working in close collaboration with our public institutions, foundations, private companies and universities.

In this regard, international defence exhibitions are also another important pillar of the defence industry ecosystem. SAHA EXPO, Türkiye’s International Defence and Aerospace Exhibition, contributes to this sector by undertaking significant responsibilities.

Such activities act as a strategic meeting platform that not only introduces technological innovations to sectoral stakeholders but also offers strong cooperation opportunities to them. These exhibitions hold a key role to promote Turkish defence industry productions to the international market, to enlarge export potential and also to discover new markets.

Besides, organisations such as SAHA EXPO enable local and national corporations from the sector to meet with key global partners and to develop joint projects, and thus to have more voice in the global defence market.

These events may help to better keep up with the sectoral dynamics, to assess the latest developments in technology and innovation areas and also to step up competitiveness within the industry.

These kind of opportunities which allow our national companies active in the fields of defence and aerospace to become more visible globally have an important place in the international defence industry strategies of Türkiye.

On this occasion, I hope SAHA EXPO 2024, Türkiye’s International Defence and Aerospace Industry Exhibition, which is among the major events of the region in defence and aerospace industry, will be executed successfully, and I thank and extend my best regards to those who work hard and contribute to this magnificent exhibition.