Turkish weapons manufacturer, the Mechanical and Chemical Industry Company (MKEK) has already produced and delivered 45,000 out of the 66,000 weapons it would produce this year.

MKEK Factory Manager Ali Gümüş told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they produced and delivered 58,000 units in 2018. "We will produce 66,000 domestic weapons this year," he said.

Gümüş added they have already produced 45,000 units, including 33,000 MPT-55s, 4,500 MPT-76s and 7,500 of them MP-5s, in the first seven-and-a-half months of this year.

"In addition to the MPT-55 and MPT-76s, we also mass-produce MP-5s. We sell MP-5s to both domestic and overseas customers," Gümüş noted.

He added that they recently sold 2,000 units to Ukraine and will send an additional 2,000 units. The company exports MP-5s to a number of countries, between 400 and 1,000 units each.

He said that the other firearms are yet to see any foreign orders. "We have sent the samples of MPT-55 and MPT-76 to a number of countries where they are currently undergoing tests," Gümüş said.

He emphasized that they are moving in line with their objective of producing 66,000 weapons by year-end. "We expect new orders while we are coming to the end of the current order. The Turkish Land Forces Command has verbally assured us that they want to purchase 207,000 MPT-76s from MKEK," he stated.

Gümüş highlighted that they have continued to produce the MPT-55 rifles over the last one-and-a-half years. "As part of the project, only 8,000 rifles are yet to be delivered. They will be delivered once the inspections are complete," he said.

He added that the company has also produced and delivered the JMK Bora-12, Turkey's first designated marksman's rifle, to the Gendarmerie General Command.