Turkey is highly active in creating new systems, including high-tech equipment, using domestic resources, Turkey’s defence and aerospace exports are likely to top $4 billion by the end of the year 2022. Turkey is not only exporting these technologies, but it is also educating allies in how to use them. Turkey aims to train partner commanders and troops because it will have enough clout in the future to not only integrate those forces into its defence sector but also to strengthen its political influence in critical ally nations.
While Turkey continues to rely largely on foreign sources for a large portion of its military hardware and technology. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Turkey intends to abolish its military industry’s reliance on foreign suppliers by 2023, the centennial of the Turkish republic’s founding. The private defence industry in Turkey, the likes of FNSS, Otokar, BMC, and Nurol Makina specialise in 4×4, 6×6, and 8×8 armoured platforms, tracked infantry combat vehicles, and main battle tanks and weapon systems in Turkey’s defence sector. These systems are sold to a broad range of consumers across the world, in addition to its National Security Forces. The most notable product samples of the Turkish Defense Industry competing in worldwide markets are 8×8 PARS, 6×6 PARS, 6X6 ARMA; 4×4 COBRA, EJDER YALCIN, VURAN; ALTAY MBT and KAPLAN Medium Tanks.
On the contrary, there is an increased usage of drones for duties ranging from intelligence collection and surveillance to border control, as well as their adaptability in counterterrorism and military operations. This tendency is amplified by the effective integration of advances in data management and artificial intelligence with drone technology, which has been dubbed a “renaissance” in the industry. Turkey has its sights set on this industry and is attempting to remain ahead of the competition by releasing new-generation drones with increased capabilities that make use of these advancements. The diverse range of drones created by Turkish firms has become the face of Turkey’s burgeoning national military sector. The Turkish arms exports market, which had previously been dominated by small arms and armoured personnel carriers, has now expanded to encompass drones, missiles, frigates, and other high-end military systems, with submarine sales on the cards. Turkish companies’ varied variety of drones has become the face of Turkey’s developing national defence business. The Turkish weapons export business, which was formerly dominated by small arms and armoured personnel carriers, has now grown to include drones, missiles, frigates, and other high-end military equipment, with submarine sales on the horizon.
Turkey’s military industry has made significant strides in developing USV capabilities. The first project, ULAQ, is presently in mass production after passing all testing and being sea-tested. The ULAQ was offered to NATO nations last month by a joint venture of ARES Shipyard and Meteksan Defence, and it is seen as a formidable contender to dominate this area. The NB57 ASW and RD09 ASuW USVs are other projects unveiled by Turkey’s premier military firm Aselsan in July 2021. This summer, Aselsan’s project partner, Sefine Shipyard, cut the first steel for the boats. Apart from these projects, Aselsan debuted its “Albatros-S” USV Swarm idea during the IDEF-2021 military expo in Istanbul in August 2021. While Albatros-S is a research and development project, it is also compatible with other USV initiatives and Albatros-S unmanned surface boats. The fourth proposal came from Dearsan Shipyard, which on December 23 announced a new family of armed unmanned surface boats (USVs), the USV 15, on its social media sites.
Meteksan Defence Industry Inc., a Turkish defence corporation, has been working with NAZAR, a new ground-based laser system. The NAZAR, one of Turkey’s most intriguing defence concepts. The land-based NAZAR System was exhibited for the first time at the Meteksan Defence booth at the IDEF 2021 Exhibition, having been developed within the scope of the 1st Phase of NAZAR Project signed between the Presidency of Defence Industries of the Republic of Turkey and Meteksan Defence in recent years. To safeguard vital bases and infrastructure, the land-based NAZAR System delivers broadband state-of-the-art laser soft-kill capabilities against EO/IR guided missiles. With its laser soft-kill capacity, the NAZAR Project, which features a technology that only a few nations in the world are working on, is seen as a strategically important project for Turkey. The system has been designed to detect EO and IR-guided missiles and to employ laser blinding and soft-kill tactics against missiles with this capability. As a result, EO/IR guided missiles will be able to be neutralised from a long distance.
NAZAR has been designed to be effective not just against known EO/IR guided missiles, but also to include reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities that will give it an edge against asymmetric threats due to its broadband operating capacity. To improve overall efficiency, the system will be able to function in conjunction with other sensors and systems.
Conclusion:
Turkey’s attempts to modernise and strengthen its national defence infrastructure have yielded very effective achievements in a number of crucial sectors. To address the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces using local sources, key defence industrial organisations have been developed, each of which fills a significant gap in their area of operation. Nonetheless, Turkey’s drones and armoured vehicles appear to have the proper mix of pricing, capability, and reputation to pique the interest of forces across the world. While the prowess and acceleration in technology and equipment innovation will not only build a strong military sector, it will also place Turkey’s defence industry among the leading exporters, further cementing Turkey’s worldwide status as a producer of high-quality, inexpensive specialised weaponry.