Offtopic: You can accuse Erdogan of many things and he certainly makes mistakes and in general, as a politician you can't do justice to everyone in Turkey, whether good or bad, because there are simply too many interest groups.
But be glad that he not only pushes the arms industry but also promotes it to an unbelievable extent.
All the presidents before him were failures and didn't take any responsibility for their country, and instead kissed the ass of the USA, EU & Co.
Erdogan blackmails them, he negotiates deals, yes he doesn't get everything, but he puts them under pressure, but that's the only way it works in global politics, otherwise others will decide about your country instead of Turkey deciding about itself.
Apart from that, nepotism or not, that has always been the case in Turkey and I emphasize again that it has always been the case, no matter who was president or Basbakan before.
You should also get away from the illusion that there will be no nepotism in Turkey if Erdogan stops at some point, if it is not possible to stop this in the USA and the EU, how can it be stopped in Turkey.
A very simple example is that SSIK meetings used to be an insignificant bureaucratic body that even the prime ministers did not attend, except during the Ecevit eras. In these periods, since indigenization efforts were downplayed, since most of the local companies were essentially bagmen, and since the decisions that needed to be taken were taken between delegations, no driving political will could emerge. After 2004-10 period, the whole country, not just ex-soldiers or defense industry enthusiasts, became aware of this committee. Does the Akp and its brand new media instrumentalize these efforts for political expediency? Yes, and in its parrallel, main opposition played into their hands by talking nonsense, this stupidity still continues, for both side. It has become nearly impossible for real defense enthusiasts who want stay away from the daily political shitshow and hallow populism.
I remember very well the times when tens of pages were written for weeks for something so insignificant for todays conditions. Unfortunately, we do not have this memory as the databases of defense industry channels on the internet are periodically destroyed. I wish I could show people a few examples from forum topics from 20 years ago, how even our vision was narrow. Turkish defense industry has made a big leap forward in a very short time. In fact, despite the fact that most of the projects in the first period were sabotaged from inside at the time, extraordinary success was achieved. Because, It always had this capacity. It had experienced people and academics who were involved in very serious projects abroad, and its participation in the western industry as a subcontractor at home. The quality standards of the institutions were very high. Only, there was no political will and some things dragged on for yearsin the midst of political and economic crises. But it was always there, just, someone had to mobilize it. In my opinion, this was the most important opportunity RTE had in
his entire political career. He even won elections with the help of this decision alone, with the help of so called opposition he faced.
Anyway, in my opinion, these developments led to the expansion of resources, and the expansion of resources led to the destruction of an established business culture in this area, which had been ongoing since the 80 coup, and the redefinition of the industry. Not long ago, about 10 years ago, Baykar was about to close down and they even published a statement full of reproaches on their official website (later removed). Although I remember the document very clearly, I cannot recall its exact content, but I think they could not start the acceptance procedure even though all the requirements were met. At that stage, the company went through many crises, there were suspicious deaths also, while the military figures supporting Baykar were not very pro-government. Those who defended Baykar in the forums at that time were not politically pro-government friends either. The common goal was to see the development of the domestic industry. Baykar had the power of the unpopular segment in its early days. When the company somehow managed to break down the obstacles in front of it, it gained the support of the popular opinion this time but antipathy on the other side. The main reason for this is, you know, they chose shortcut by engaging political leadership of the country. From this point on, no matter what you do, will always incur someone's hatred. Even if Baykar becomes a global company spread over many countries one day, it will not change the fact that it is the company that makes the smartest political move by using the opportunity while one order lost and new one established in its area of interest.
TL,DR; Although I don't know if all these opinion manupilations are really important, the right wing Atlanticists who glorified FETO yesterday have become Turkish defense industry experts today, or you suddenly see a defense expert with thousands of followers on social media being caught selling critical information and documents to foreign intelligence in a coffee shop. The horse's track has mixed with the dog's track. But within the influence of the net community, identities are also becoming unclear. People have even unconsciously started to carry the tweets of fugitive terrorists indirectly. I considered myself a die-hard defense enthusiast for years, sometimes spending entire Sundays scouring the papers on these subjects. But now I don't even want to look anymore, there's a different shittalk on every corner. While the entire surrounding area of the country is in fire, and the republic is about to face the greatest risks in its history, everyone has a comb in one hand and a glass of ayran in the other.