Verteidigung: Die Türkei nimmt den Wettbewerb mit der westlichen Rüstungsindustrie auf

Turkey now sees itself as a competitor to the Western weapons industry, as it has recently supplied Ukraine with 70 ATACMS-type artillery rockets, multiple rocket launchers, and almost 50,000 artillery shells, according to reports from a few days ago. These weapons, mostly of older design, are produced in the United States and are now being sent to Ukraine to help in its defense against Russia.

Turkey can afford this donation, as it has already established a robust arms industry that is steadily making inroads into the international market. This development is driven and restrained by a conflict with the United States. The numbers illustrate the new self-confidence: Turkish defense and aerospace industry exports have grown from around 200 million dollars in the year 2000 to 8.5 billion dollars last year.

In the first seven months of this year alone, they increased by more than 26 percent compared to the previous year, reaching nearly 5.8 billion dollars. According to the Stockholm-based Peace Research Institute SIPRI, Turkey ranked eleventh among the world's largest weapons exporters between 2021 and 2025, doubling its global market share from 0.9 percent to 1.8 percent.

Exports go to around 40 countries, primarily in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, as well as European countries. In demand are drones, rockets, armored vehicles, and ammunition. One of the biggest export hits is the Bayraktar TB2 combat drone from the Istanbul-based tech conglomerate Baykar. It helped Ukraine achieve early successes against the aggressor since the start of the war in 2022 and has been used in conflict zones in Libya, Syria, northern Iraq, and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Baykar now sells the drone to more than 30 countries, including Poland, in a joint venture with the Italian Leonardo company. In recent years, the company has been the largest weapons exporter in the country, dominating the international market with around 65 percent. Turkish drones also compete with European rivals. In early July, Romania became the first EU and NATO country to deploy a warship entirely built in Turkey, the "Contraamiral August Roman".

Equipped with an integrated package of marine systems from the company Aselsan, this corvette marks a significant step in Turkey's naval capabilities. Aselsan, the largest Turkish arms company, produces a wide range of electronic systems for the army, navy, and air force, including radars, electronic warfare, avionics, electro-optical systems, drones and drone defense, fire control systems, and communication systems.

The company also manufactures rocket warheads' fin stabilizers from the Roketsan rocket manufacturer and its own rockets, kamikaze boats, and submarines. Aselsan, which is over 70 percent owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Development Foundation (TSKGV), plays a central role not only in domestic modernization but also in NATO procurement.

It recently received a three-year framework contract from NATO to supply portable air defense systems (MANPADS) and secured a 410 million US dollar contract from Poland for electronic warfare systems. The company has also outcompeted German competitors in a competitive bidding process. In addition to its work with Ukraine, Aselsan has been working closely with Turkey since before the Russian invasion, establishing a subsidiary in Kiev that operates in communication, electronic warfare, and air defense.

Aselsan is not the only Turkish arms contractor supplying Europe. The state aerospace company Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) will deliver thirty Hürjet training aircraft to Spain. The state arms and shipbuilding firm STM is constructing two multi-purpose logistics ships for the Portuguese Navy. Turkey is also working on its own defense shield, the Steel Dome.

However, for Turkey, this is just the beginning. At Aselsan, there is a goal to lead in equipping NATO. "We can deliver more cost-effectively and faster," said Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol recently in an interview with journalists. "Our products have already proven their worth in the second-largest NATO army's operations." "Whether radars, air defense, or electronic warfare, we can deliver everything in less than two years."

The war in Ukraine shows that sustainable weapon system provision requires cooperation, Akyol emphasizes. "Cooperation is better than competition." Aselsan is already working on the next stage of Turkish arms industry, the Steel Dome (Celik Kubbe) - a multi-layered anti-air and anti-missile system that integrates radar stations, laser weapons, electronic jamming, and short, medium, and long-range missiles with artificial intelligence.

Erdogan drives the development of Turkey's defense industry, which has its roots in the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus when the United States imposed a weapons embargo. Aselsan was founded a year later with the aim of giving Turkey greater arms independence. However, this ambition only gained momentum after the presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.