Turkey has become an example and an alternative for many states whose national interests have been threatened and it has revolutionized the existing military affairs, where most of the times were dominated by the U.S.

Foreign policy commentator for the Turkish SETA research center and Assistant Editor at Insight Turkey Journal Gloria Shkurti Ozdemir said this in an exclusive interview with TurkicWorld.

She said that, for a long time, Turkey’s defense system and industry have been highly depending on the outside actor, especially the U.S. However, in a changing international system where Turkey is trying to follow an autonomous foreign policy with the protection of its national interest at its core strengthening of Turkey’s defense industry became a must.

“Without any doubt the main way to achieve this goal was to decrease the dependence on outside actors such as the U.S. and increase the national development and manufacturing of the weapons systems, including here among others UAVs, helicopters, fighter jets, missiles or even amphibious assault ship”.

Ozdemir pointed out that, the weapons systems (especially in the case of TB2) have proved to be a game-changer in several conflicts, including that in Syria, Libya, Karabakh, and lately in Ukraine.

“Without any doubt, this plays a crucial role regarding the image of the Turkey’s defense industry both regionally and globally. As a result of these successes, it would not be wrong to argue that Turkey’s defense industry has reached very high levels in a very short time and as such it has become one of the leading global industries. Especially in terms of UAV we see Turkey’s defense industry competing with several leading states such as the U.S., Israel or China, “ Ozdemir added.

According to her opinion, the fact that the success of Turkey’s defense industry is a determinant factor in increasing Turkey’s role in the region becoming like this an indispensable regional actor.

Answering to the question -why many states prefer Turkey’s defense weapon system-, she expressed that Turkey had been able to produce weapon system that are cheaper when compared to those of the other states. “But the most important component here is the success of these weapons”- Ozdemir mentioned.

As her example in the case of drones, Turkey has been able to produce drones that are cheaper than those of the U.S. (consider that it is a leader in this area) and at the same time more successful that the Chinese cheap drones. These two elements have positioned Turkey among the leading drone exporters.

In her point of view, Turkey has revolutionized the existing military affairs, where most of the times were dominated by the U.S.

“By decreasing its military dependence on other states Turkey has become an example and an alternative for many states whose national interests have been threatened. Specifically, by keeping in mind the case of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the West -and especially the U.S.- failed to provide to Azerbaijan the necessary support. At this point Turkey’s TB2 drones proved to be a game changer. The same thing can be said from Ukraine or even Libya,” expert mentioned.

Based on the latest statements Turkey is currently producing around 70-80 percent of its needs in the field of the defense industry. As President Erdogan has stated Turkey aims to fully cover its needs and according to the Presidency of Defense Industry’s plan the 100% national production and therefore full independence from the defense sector exports will be reached by 2053.

Ozdemir believes that considering Turkey’s latest developments this seems to be an achievable goal.

In 2021 Turkey’s defense and aerospace exports increased by approximately 40% when compared to 2020, reaching $3.22 billion. According to President Erdogan’s statement earlier this year this is expected to reach $4 billion in 2022.

She mentioned the fact that Turkey’s defense sector constitutes around 1% of the world’s total defense and aerospace exports while 75% of the world’s exports are dominated by great Powers such the U.S. Russia, China, Germany and France, she underlined.

“In the next five years Turkey expects to increase this share further and take place among the top 10 exporting countries”.

Besides, expert stated that the new defense industry products such as ‘TB3’, ‘Kızılelma’, or ‘Akıncı’ are expected to play a great role in increasing the export potential of Turkey.

Lastly, several states including here the UK and Canada had imposed a ban on Turkey’s defense industry exports.

However, just a couple of days ago UK lifted the ban and Canada is expected to follow soon. Of course, these are all positive agenda when it comes to Turkey’s exporting potential, Ozdemir pointed out.

In the conclusion, she told that the military cooperation between Turkey and other Turkic States have always been at the center of the bilateral relations.

“Several agreements between Turkey and the Turkic States have been done to boost the collaboration in this sector. At the same time, except for Uzbekistan, all the other member states of Turkic States have either purchased or requested UAVs from Turkey”.