The defense industry in Turkey has undergone a major transformation over the past decade. Initially an importer, the country, whose international recognition of its systems is increasing every year, is now a manufacturer of defense equipment and materials. Today, 3 Turkish groups rank among the 100 largest defense companies in the world.

Defense is an extremely dynamic sector and a highly strategic market for Turkey, which aims to provide its armed forces with state-of-the-art war materials and equipment.

Despite the industry's gain in autonomy in recent years, technological independence has not yet been fully achieved (68.5% of equipment manufactured locally) and Turkey, ranked 17th in the world in terms of military spending in 2016, remains dependent on foreign expertise and know-how. Turkish industry is nowadays forced to call on the skills of international companies for technologies whose design it does not fully master.

Indeed, Turkey has a strong interest in the development of its military industry: Ankara allocates a budget of about USD 18 billion each year and aims to reduce its dependence on the outside world completely by 2023, the centenary year of the Republic of Turkey. To this end, the government is pursuing a policy of incentives that considerably favors local production and encourages technological partnerships with international players with a view to increasing the skills of Turkish manufacturers.