Türkiye carrying out 'complete revolution' in defense industry, says president

Türkiye is continuing its successes in the defense industry and carrying out "a complete revolution" in the sector, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.

Speaking at TEKNOFEST Southeast in the Turkish southeastern province of Sanliurfa, Erdogan highlighted Türkiye's progress in the defense industry and pledged to build on the country's achievements.

"Türkiye continues our success in the defense industry. We are carrying out a complete revolution in this field," he said.

Erdogan added that Türkiye also helps meet the defense needs of friendly countries when requested.

"When they ask, we also meet the defense needs of our friends. We believe that the stronger our friends are, the stronger we will be," he said.

Erdogan said Türkiye would seek to further strengthen its position in the sector through new records and advanced platforms.

More than 4,500 companies and over 100,000 people work under the coordination of the Secretariat of Defense Industries on projects across the air, land, sea and space domains, he said.

Erdogan said Türkiye, once 80% dependent on foreign sources in the defense industry, is now the world's 11th-largest defense exporter.

The country exported $511.4 million worth of defense and aerospace products in August alone, he added.

Defense and aerospace exports reached $6.3 billion in January-August, up 16.2% from the same period last year, Erdogan said.

"God willing, we will reach even greater heights. God willing, we will further strengthen these achievements with new records and new platforms with high competitiveness and added value," he added.

Erdogan said the TEKNOFEST aviation and technology festival was fittingly held in Sanliurfa, describing it as a "city of prophets" with thousands of years of scientific, cultural and civilizational heritage.

"Sanliurfa deserves this," Erdogan said, highlighting the city's contributions to medicine, mathematics, astronomy, geometry, physics and philosophy.

He cited scientists including Al-Battani, Sinan ibn Thabit, Ibn Wasif of Harran and Yunus al-Harrani, as well as the city's ancient site of Gobeklitepe.