Turkish defense industry soaring to new heights as crowds flock to premiere tech fest

By Gokhan Ergocun

The second quarter of this year saw soaring defense industry exports for Türkiye, a senior government official told Anadolu at a regular event that, by generating thousands of enthusiasts, has come to illustrate the country's meteoric rise in the sector.

Haluk Gorgun, the head of Türkiye's Defense Industry Agency, said the country had achieved record defense industry exports in April-June, optimistic that another all-time high would follow in the third quarter.

Speaking to Anadolu at Türkiye's premiere technology and aerospace event TEKNOFEST in the capital Ankara, Gorgun said the country would fulfill its year-end defense exports target of $6 billion.

"We're making progress in terms of product diversity and increasing the number of countries we export to, and the coming days will bring very good news on exports," Gorgun said, adding that Turkish defense industry exports included both platforms and subsystems, which are sold separately.

On TEKNOFEST, he pointed to the surging interest in its dozens of competitions, ranging from novel electric car races and jet engine design to environment-friendly agricultural, industrial, and energy tech.

This year, around 350,000 teams and 1 million people applied to join these competitions this year, he noted.

TEKNOFEST has been held in various Turkish cities outside of Istanbul in even years and in the metropolis in odd years, but to mark the centenary of the Republic of Türkiye in 2023, the event has been planned in three different provinces.

Ankara is hosting the second edition of the event, four months after the first edition was held at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, where it welcomed a record 2.5 million visitors.

The third edition for this year will be organized in the Aegean city of Izmir on Sept. 27-Oct. 1.

Ankara edition is also hosting the seventh edition in Türkiye and the eighth including its first international event in Azerbaijan.

Anadolu has consistently been the global communications partner of the event since its inception in 2018.

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Temel Kotil, head of the state-run Turkish Aerospace Inc (TAI), echoed that the sector is on track to reach the $6 billion export target, including $1 billion by TAI.

"Türkiye is creating a revolution in the field of exports," Kotil stressed.

According to Ozgur Guleryuz, who runs another defense industry company, STM, TEKNOFEST is crucial in showing that the country's defense industry moves as a single body.

"All companies are here, together, we are working very hard to create a little more excitement in our people, to attract their interest, and to make them feel a little pride," he told Anadolu.

Mehmet Akif Nacar, the general manager of defense firm Havelsan, said TEKNOFEST Ankara has drawn massive crowds.

"As Havelsan, it really excites us to meet with our citizens and share information about our projects," he told Anadolu, stressing TEKNOFEST's role in generating human resources for the country's future.

Ahmet Akyol, chief of the Ankara-based defense giant Aselsan, said TEKNOFEST is very important to the younger generation, whose participation in these events at an early age is critical in achieving progress in the sector.

"Together with our new generation of young people and children, we will carry the Turkish defense industry further under the leadership of the Defense Industry Agency," Akyol said.

Murat Ikinci, head of Turkish missile producer Roketsan, said the energy and constructiveness in TEKNOFEST is the most important indicator of the robust power, energy, and human resources that the Turkish defense industry needs.

"As defense industry institutions, we support that work our children do in this field as much as we can and try to help them reach higher levels and higher achievements," he told Anadolu.