Defense procurement

4 questions on the risks facing Turkey’s defense industry

 Since his early days in power, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made growing the country’s defense industry a long-term goal. But with the future of Ankara’s participation in the F-35 program in doubt, and the country in the midst of an economic downturn, can Turkey’s defense firms stay on track?

Defense News talked with Bulent Aliriza, director and senior associate on the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, about the challenges ahead.

Under Erdogan, Turkey has made growing its indigenous defense industry a priority. How would you rate that development?

Developing a self-sufficient defense industry was one of Erdogan’s very ambitious 2023 goals, for the centennial of the Turkish republic. By his own self-proclaimed yardstick, the sector is not where he wants it to be. However, there has been impressive progress under Erdogan’s personal direction with around 65 percent of the sector now indigenous, compared to 20 percent when he came to power in 2003, along with defense exports of over $2 billion last year.