Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Türkiye aims to rank among the world’s top ten exporters of defence technology within the next two years.
“The main objective for the defence industry in the coming period is to produce high-tech products faster, more effectively and in higher quantities,” he said in remarks cited by local media.
Erdoğan was speaking at a Tuesday inauguration ceremony in Ankara for a new missile production facility operated by Roketsan, a leading Turkish defence firm.
By 2028, he said, Türkiye hopes to achieve $11 billion in annual defence technology exports.
Turkish defence and aerospace exports have increased dramatically in recent years, driven largely by increased investment in the domestic technology sector.
Erdoğan noted that defence technology exports had surged from $248 million in 2002 to more than $10 billion last year.
In the first quarter of 2026, he said, defence exports rose by 12 per cent year on year, surpassing the $1.9 billion mark.
Over the past decade, Türkiye has emerged as a leading exporter of advanced defence systems, including unmanned aerial vehicles, naval platforms and electronic warfare technologies.
Turkish-built drones, especially the Bayraktar TB2, garnered global attention in 2020 when they played a significant role in Azerbaijan’s military victory over Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Roketsan CEO Murat İkinci announced a $3 billion infrastructure expansion plan aimed at boosting domestic missile production and enhancing Türkiye’s space launch capabilities.
According to İkinci, the company recently completed the first $1 billion phase of the project, which includes a $450 million fuel production facility in the central city of Kırıkkale.
The CEO added that Roketsan also plans to establish a new research and development centre to be staffed by more than 1,000 workers.
Once completed, he said, the new R&D centre is set to become one of the world’s largest warhead manufacturing facilities.
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