Turkish defence, aviation exports hit $10-billion mark in 2025, Ankara says

Türkiye exported more than $10 billion worth of defence and aviation equipment and services in 2025, according to Haluk Gorgun, the head of Türkiye’s Defence Industries Secretariat.

In remarks cited by Anadolu Agency, Türkiye’s official press service, Gorgun said the country’s defence and aviation exports totaled $10.05 billion last year – a whopping 48-percent increase on 2024. 

This included $9.87 billion worth of equipment sales and another $184 million in related services, he said. Speaking to reporters over the weekend, he said that more than $2.5 billion in foreign sales were realised last December alone, marking an all-time monthly record for Türkiye’s thriving defence and aviation sectors.

Gorgun went on to note that, in 2022, Turkish aviation and defence exports accounted for only 1.7 percent – roughly $4.4 billion – of the country’s total export revenue. “Today, the share of defence and aviation exports in Türkiye’s overall exports has reached 3.7 percent,” he said. He attributed the record sales figures to the manufacture of high-quality and cost-effective products – along with related services – by Türkiye’s domestic defence industry.

In recent years, Türkiye has become a leading exporter of high-tech defence and aviation equipment, including aerial drones, naval platforms, and electronic warfare systems. In 2020, Turkish-produced aerial drones, especially the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat vehicle, played a significant role in Azerbaijan’s military victory over neighbouring Armenia. Turkish defence and aviation firms have secured lucrative contracts with a range of European partners, including Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Spain, and Portugal.

They have also supplied a number of Arab, African, and Central Asian states with advanced defence and aviation equipment. “Looking at the countries we exported to last year, four of the top ten are European and one is the United States,” Gorgun said. “The Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa followed.” He went on to predict that the year ahead would see Turkish defence and aviation exports continue their upward trajectory.

Last summer, Türkiye signed a major sales contract with Indonesia for dozens of its domestically produced KAAN fighter jets, he said. “And towards the end of the year, we signed a contract with Spain, one of the world’s leading countries in aviation, for the [Turkish-made] HURJET training aircraft,” Gorgun added.

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