Türkiye plans to increase defence spending by 229 per cent under a three-year economic plan designed to boost domestic arms production and advanced military technology.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz announced the spending target on Sunday as he presented the government’s Medium-Term Program, covering 2027 to 2029.
Yılmaz said Türkiye aims to further develop its domestic defence-technology sector and boost the production of high-value goods.
The government has not given a detailed breakdown of the planned increase or specified the baseline used to calculate the 229 per cent figure.
It has also not said how much of the allocated funds will go towards research, development and manufacturing, or how much will be used to offset inflation.
The new defence budget is part of a broader economic plan that has lowered Türkiye’s growth forecast for 2026 to 3.3 per cent and projects year-end inflation at just over 28 per cent.
In a related development on Monday, Turkish pilots were set to begin flight training on Eurofighter Typhoon jets as Ankara prepares to bring the European fighter aircraft into service.
According to the Turkish Defence Ministry, pilots have completed terminology instruction and are set to begin an eight-month flight-training programme.
This will be followed by three months of instructor-pilot training, with additional Turkish crews expected to take part in subsequent groups, the ministry said.
Türkiye has ordered 20 new Eurofighter Typhoons from the UK and hopes to acquire another 24 used aircraft - 12 each from Qatar and Oman - to meet its short-term operational needs.
The new British-built fighters, however, are not expected to arrive in Türkiye for several years.
Ankara has sought additional warplanes while developing its home-grown, fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet, designed to eventually replace much of Türkiye’s ageing F-16 fleet.
Meanwhile, Türkiye has also expanded the production and export of locally manufactured drones, missiles, armoured vehicles, warships and electronic warfare systems.
Flagship projects include the Kızılelma combat drone and the country’s first purpose-built aircraft carrier.
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