Exports of Türkiye's defense and aerospace industry hit a record monthly figure of $876 million (TL 28.26 billion) in May, the head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) said Monday, highlighting sustainable growth in the sector.
"We are not only achieving sustainable growth in our sector with our record high high-tech exports but also increasing our country's value-added export rate with our export value per kilogram exceeding $65," Haluk Görgün wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
In January-May, Turkish defense and aerospace industry exports grew 9% compared to the same period last year to $2.21 billion, Görgün added.
On Monday, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat announced that the country’s exports saw a record-high May figure of $24.1 billion.
Years of investments have fueled a profound transformation in Türkiye's defense industry over the last two decades, spurred by a score of Western embargoes. The drive has aimed at reducing external dependency on Western arms through innovative engineering initiatives and domestically developed technologies.
It prompted the development of a range of homegrown air, land and marine platforms, eventually helping lower Türkiye's foreign dependency on defense from around 80% in the early 2000s to about 20% today.
Speaking at the recently held international military drill, Efes-2024, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan underscored the advancements in the industry and the domestic development of various naval platforms, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and fighter jets, among other products.
"Since 2002, we have mobilized all kinds of means to maximize the level of indigenous production in the defense industry. Thanks to the progress it has made in the defense industry, Türkiye has become one of the indispensable actors in its region," he noted.
The president cited the growing number of projects and the increasing volume of ongoing projects. "While the budget of the active defense projects in 2002 was some $5.5 billion, the volume of the ongoing projects today has surpassed $96 billion. We are among the 10 countries capable of designing, building and operating their own warships. And we are one of the 3-4 leading countries in UAV and unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) production," he said.
At the same time, the country's military spending rebounded to grow by 37% year-over-year in 2023, according to a recent report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The report showed that the 2023 spending elevated Türkiye by one place to rank 22nd in the world.
The total exports from the defense sector reached a record $5.5 billion in 2023.