The Turkish defense and aerospace industry broke a new record in export figures in the first two months of the year, an official said Saturday, underscoring the importance of shipments for the sustainable growth of the sector.
Defense and aerospace exports increased by 12% in January-February, compared to the same period last year with shipments amounting to $632.78 million, the head of Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) Haluk Görgün said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
"On the axis of world peace, the security needs of our friendly and brotherly countries and the interest of user countries in our defense systems lay the foundations for the future of our sector," he added.
"Behind this growth trend in the international arena lies the unconditional support of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and his belief in our homeland's children," noted Görgün.
Highlighting the integrity of the defense industry, starting from main integrator companies to subcontractors, he pledged to continue to work tirelessly.
The profound transformation in Türkiye's defense industry, which saw the development of a range of homegrown air, land and marine platforms in recent years, eventually helped lower the country's foreign dependency on defense from around 80% in the early 2000s to about 20% today.
While placing focus on building homegrown defense systems and vehicles, the ground covered in the sector also saw Türkiye emerging as a significant exporter, with a record of $5.5 billion in foreign shipments achieved last year.
