TR Defence Exports & Updates

Heartbang

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Killer drones and multi-billion dollar deals: Turkey’s rapidly-growing defense industry is boosting its global clout​


KEY POINTS
  • Turkey’s revenue from overseas defense exports rose by 42% between 2020 and 2021, with foreign contracts making up as much as 90% of revenue for some companies.
  • The powerful Turkish-made Bayraktar TB-2 drone has won fame for its role in helping Ukrainian forces devastate Russia’s initial offensive.
  • The industry transformation has its roots in the early 2000s, when Ankara outlined a strategy to build a modern and self-sustained defense sector.

In the early weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a music video surfaced online.
It featured clips of missile launchers and Russian tanks in a drone’s crosshairs, as deep-voiced men sang the words in Ukrainian: “The occupiers came to us in Ukraine, with brand new uniforms and military vehicles, but their inventory melted into steel … Bayraktar!”

The last word drops as an explosion is seen obliterating a Russian target.
The video quickly went viral, the song written as an homage to the powerful Turkish-made Bayraktar TB-2 drone that helped Ukrainian forces devastate Russia’s initial offensive. The now-famous drone is produced by Istanbul-headquartered defense company Baykar Makina – whose chief technology officer happens to be Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law.
Drones aren’t the only thing elevating Turkey’s status as a growing player in the global defense industry. The sheer number of international deals the country’s defense firms have made in the last few years reveals rapidly rising demand, major R&D investment and a growing source of leverage for Turkey’s foreign relations.

Record defense exports​

In 2022, Turkey hit a record $4.4 billion in arms exports – a figure larger than some European countries’ annual defense budgets. After exceeding its export target for the year, Turkey’s government aims to bring that figure to $6 billion in 2023. Turnover for the country’s defense industry as a whole last year was $10 billion, according to Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries.
Revenue from overseas defense exports rose by 42% between 2020 and 2021, with foreign contracts making up as much as 90% of revenue for some Turkish companies — like Baykar, the Atlantic Council reported in December. Turkey is home to some 2,000 companies in the sector.


A vessel claimed to be a Russian Raptor boat is destroyed with use of Ukrainian, Turkish-supplied Bayraktar drone, near Snake Island, Ukraine in this screen grab obtained from a social media video on May 2, 2022.


A vessel claimed to be a Russian Raptor boat is destroyed with use of Ukrainian, Turkish-supplied Bayraktar drone, near Snake Island, Ukraine in this screen grab obtained from a social media video on May 2, 2022.
Courtesy: Ukraine Naval Forces.



The transformation has its roots in the early 2000s, when Ankara outlined a strategy to build a modern and self-sustained defense sector and encourage domestic investment. Erdogan’s two-decade long project, which continues to see strong state investment in local firms, is paying off as arms sales bolster Turkish influence abroad.
And while Turkey’s military manufacturing footprint is still small compared to major players like the U.S., Russia, and China, it’s won outsized attention for the performance of its weapons like the Bayraktar drone, which has been used in Libya, Syria, and the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict in addition to Ukraine.

Keeping up foreign relations​

Sales of weapons and technologies, especially drones, “have helped [Turkey] improve ties” internationally, the Atlantic Council wrote, in particular with “states such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan, and even establish new ties with various other countries such as Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia.”
The sales bolster Turkey’s clout in the Gulf states and Europe, too. At IDEX, the Middle East’s largest arms fair held in February in Abu Dhabi, Turkey’s presence was impossible to miss. Enormous Turkish-branded pavilions showcased everything from armored trucks and drones to assault rifles, tactical gear and laser-guided missiles.

“There is significant international demand from the Middle East, from Asia, from Europe. Also with the war in Ukraine, Turkiye is trying to do our best in supporting with equipment, including with UAVs and land platforms,” Alper Öziblen, chairman of Turkish defense company Pavo Group, told CNBC at IDEX.
“This shows us that Turkish products have been mature enough to use in the battlefields,” he said. “Our clients, our partners are very happy.”

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - FEBRUARY 21: Tulpar, Turkish heavy infantry fighting vehicle designed by the Sakarya-based automotive manufacturer Otokar, on display at the 16th edition of International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) and the 7th edition of the Naval Defence and Maritime Security Exhibition (Navdex) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 21 2023. IDEX is the largest joint defence exhibition in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, it is running from 20 untill 24 F

Tulpar, Turkish heavy infantry fighting vehicle designed by the Sakarya-based automotive manufacturer Otokar, on display at the 16th edition of International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 21 2023.
Photo by Mohammed Zarandah | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images



Öziblen and other Turkish executives CNBC spoke to all confirmed they had ongoing or planned partnerships and deals with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and other oil-rich Gulf states. Many of those countries are investing heavily in growing their own defense sectors — and some, like the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have provided substantial financial support to Turkey or pledged billions of dollars in trade and investment.
Öziblen highlighted the expertise of his and other Turkish companies in areas like cryptography, essential for secure communications on the battlefield, as well as electronic subsystems for drones and land platforms.
“Information technology is a major part of the defense domain, and we are positioning ourselves in that domain,” he said. And the investment shows in the numbers: research and development in Turkey’s defense sector “recently increased by 30 percent,” the Atlantic Council’s report wrote.

Supplying NATO, Ukraine and beyond​

As NATO allies race to supply Ukraine with arms to combat Russia, many of those allies – particularly in Europe – are running severely low on their own weapons stocks. Turkish defense manufacturers say they are booked for the next several years with orders to help replenish NATO stockpiles.
Those firms also have high demand from Turkey’s military alone — it is, after all, the second-largest military in NATO after the United States.

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - FEBRUARY 21: A view from the stand of Turkish ASSAV Defense Company at the 16th edition of International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) and the 7th edition of the Naval Defence and Maritime Security Exhibition (Navdex) held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 21 2023. IDEX is the largest joint defence exhibition in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, it is running from 20 untill 24 February 2023. (Photo by Mohammed Zarandah/Anadolu Agency via


A view from the stand of Turkish ASSAV Defense Company at the 16th edition of International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 21 2023.
Mohammed Zarandah | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
“The Ukraine-Russian war has created a huge demand, even the countries that are not participating in the war are stockpiling. We are already doubling our manufacturing capacity just to meet demand [from NATO countries],” Emin Öner, chairman of the board of Turkish defense firm Assan Group, told CNBC.
“All the manufacturers are booked for at least five more years,” Öner said. He said that his company was fully booked with orders for the next few years, with shifts running round the clock — despite that fact that Assan does not currently make products for Ukraine. It would do so if the Turkish government requested it, he said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (C) and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (R) pose during a joint news conference after their meeting in Lviv, Ukraine on August 18, 2022.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (C) and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (R) pose during a joint news conference after their meeting in Lviv, Ukraine on August 18, 2022.
Metin Atkas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Not all of Turkey’s defense firms supply arms to Ukraine. Among those that do, some, like Baykar, do not comment publicly about it. Turkey’s government is playing a careful balancing act between Ukraine and Russia to act as a mediator between the two, and has maintained relations with Moscow, offering a new home for many Russians fleeing sanctions.
For Pavo Group’s Öziblen, however, his company’s provision of defense equipment to Ukraine is a point of pride.
“If [Ukraine] needs some know-how, knowledge, for specific systems, we are transferring it to them free of charge,” he said.
“It’s a kind of responsibility,” Öziblen added. “It’s more than business for us, actually. Ukraine matters more than business.”
Source?
 

Agha Sher

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Turkiye's defence industry exported $1.1 billion in Q1 2023! Hereof, $0.5 billion was exported in March alone.


Q1 is usually the slowest quarter of the year. Target is $6 billion for 2023.

Total 2022 exports was $4.3 billion.
 

Sanchez

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Air Self Defense Force got RQ-4s, Navy considering Sea Guardian while Army going with TB2s is interesting to say the least. Artillery spotter? :)

They may be viewing TB2 as a purely tactical platform like RQ-7 of the old, which at that budget range, makes sense.
 

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Air Self Defense Force got RQ-4s, Navy considering Sea Guardian while Army going with TB2s is interesting to say the least. Artillery spotter? :)

They may be viewing TB2 as a purely tactical platform like RQ-7 of the old, which at that budget range, makes sense.
I dont understand why Japan land forces want tb2 with 200km range ?! Seems useless for them , they dont have any opponent to strike within 200km like Turkiye has syria, iraq , or Ukraine has Russian forces . Japan needs Tb3 or Aksungur long range to spy at china sea .
 

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It's not clear if it will be the classic LOS version. Also not clear if they will arm it. Also not exactly clear if all this is actually true. So let's just wait.
 

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I dont understand why Japan land forces want tb2 with 200km range ?! Seems useless for them , they dont have any opponent to strike within 200km like Turkiye has syria, iraq , or Ukraine has Russian forces . Japan needs Tb3 or Aksungur long range to spy at china sea .
Exactly, Tb3 for ships and Anka, Aksungur or Akıncı for other missions.
 

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I‘m biased as a Korean: Never trust the sneaky Japanese. Their MIC is absorbing and accumulating drone technology and tactical knowledge (HW, SW, doctrine etc.) from US and Israeli sources. Now from Turkey as well.

Their endgame is to build up a serious indigenous drone ecosystem: they have all industrial and technical capabilities at hand, also enough funding from their increased defense budget.
 

Kitra

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I dont understand why Japan land forces want tb2 with 200km range ?! Seems useless for them , they dont have any opponent to strike within 200km like Turkiye has syria, iraq , or Ukraine has Russian forces . Japan needs Tb3 or Aksungur long range to spy at china sea .
It could simply be for testing their capabilities for surveillance with the end goal of purchasing TB3 when it is ready. But I agree, Aksungur should be their best option.
 

I_Love_F16

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It could simply be for testing their capabilities for surveillance with the end goal of purchasing TB3 when it is ready. But I agree, Aksungur should be their best option.

Do they even know that Aksungur exists ? Seems like there is a great lack of marketing / advertising regarding TAI drones.
 

boredaf

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Do they even know that Aksungur exists ? Seems like there is a great lack of marketing / advertising regarding TAI drones.
For/by TAI in general. For a company that produced the most F-16's only behind US and have been supplying various companies/projects with parts they are pretty underrated globally.
 

I_Love_F16

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For/by TAI in general. For a company that produced the most F-16's only behind US and have been supplying various companies/projects with parts they are pretty underrated globally.

Correct. Now the question is why ? How are you supposed to sell your products and be known abroad if you don’t advertised yourself adequately ? And it’s not like they don’t have the ressources to do it.
 

boredaf

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Correct. Now the question is why ? How are you supposed to sell your products and be known abroad if you don’t advertised yourself adequately ? And it’s not like they don’t have the ressources to do it.
I think they are just (mostly) stuck at the old way thinking about marketing. I mean, it's not like I would order an F-16 after seeing their cool videos on twitter, mostly because I'd be ordering a Grippen if I could, I love those tiny fighter jets 😅 and their real target audience is already aware of their achievements.

Still, I'd love to see more from them as well, after all, while militaries and/or politicians in charge of them (well, not everywhere of course) are still people that can get influence by publicity they get exposed to.
 

Kitra

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Do they even know that Aksungur exists ? Seems like there is a great lack of marketing / advertising regarding TAI drones.
Most likely as they would have done their homework about Turkish drones before deciding on a specific platform. However, I think 2-3 TB2 initial purchases would be a good deal for them before choosing the bigger platforms. 10-15 million on a good test bead is peanuts for them.

Also, I think it is the fault of TIA to not advertise their drones as much as Baykar. For example, I think Aksungur will probably be one of the best solutions for naval-oriented countries, especially when offensive capabilities such as small/medium torpedoes have been integrated.
 

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I‘m biased as a Korean: Never trust the sneaky Japanese. Their MIC is absorbing and accumulating drone technology and tactical knowledge (HW, SW, doctrine etc.) from US and Israeli sources. Now from Turkey as well.

Their endgame is to build up a serious indigenous drone ecosystem: they have all industrial and technical capabilities at hand, also enough funding from their increased defense budget.

We all respect, admire and look heroic on Japanese. But if we look (history books) deeper, they are anything else than that.
 

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