German media reports on "astonishing" rise of Türkiye's defence industry

The German Welt agency has published an article on the Turkish defence policy, taking a closer look at the changes that Istanbul undertook in the past 20 years in this sector to allow the country to cover its demands domestically rather than depend on arms imports. 

The report recalls, how 20 years ago Türkiye intended on requesting 1000 units of Germany's famous "Leopard-2" fighter tanks, which will now possibly be supplied to Ukraine, yet the €7 billion deal was not executed in the end. 

As per Erdogan's desire, the country moved away from relying on imports for its defence and has grown into building a robust domestic defence industry, producing drones, tanks, fighter jets, howitzers and fighter ships. 

The publication cites a report by experts of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which list the Turkish Aselsan and TUSAŞ military contractors as among the top 100 defence companies in the world.

The article goes on stating, that the Turkish Armed Forces received Turkish-made modern national howitzers (Fırtına 2), which have the same caliber of 155 millimeters as the German PzH 2000.

The role of the military UAV Bayraktar TB2 and its high effectiveness in combat operations as demonstrated in Syria, Libya, Azerbaijan and Ukraine has also been emphasized on in the article. The German publication noted on the country's development of its first unmanned aircraft, the "Kızılelma" and its preparation for an unmanned landing on a warship. This is partially linked to the US delaying the fulfillment of Türkiye's request for F-35 fighter jets, which accelerated the development of its own TF-X aircraft.

The article states that South Korea, already one of the world leaders in tank construction, is closely working with Türkiye on the engine for a new domestic tank, the "Altay", after Germany’s refusal to supply Istanbul with it.

Furthermore, Die Welt noted that the growth of the country’s defense industry is closely related to the sanctions and embargo on the supply of arms and key technologies for new projects imposed by NATO member states against Türkiye, a country that is also a member of the Western Defense Alliance, noting that President Erdoğan was put in a position where had to find other sources to guarantee the security of the country.