Turkey’s defense exports up 20% in Jan-Nov 2014

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey’s defense exports in January-November 2014 increased by 20 percent against the same period last year, hitting $1.5 billion, according to figures from the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly released on Thursday, Dec 11.

Hurriyet Daily News reports that the U.S. was the largest purchaser of Turkish defense hardware at a total of $508 million. Other major markets were Malaysia at $109 million and the United Arab Emirates at around $87 million.

Items exported by Turkey include aircraft, helicopter parts, engines, armored land vehicles, speed boats, missiles, rockets, launching platforms, light weaponry and electronic systems, including transmitters, simulators, sensors and military software.

The defense industry products make up slightly over 1 percent of Turkey's total exports, which were valued at $144 billion for the January-November period.

Turkish exports in the defense and aviation industries reached $1.39 billion in 2013.

Local defense producers aim to boost exports to $25 billion by 2023, Turkey’s undersecretary for defense industries said in late November.

İsmail Demir said Turkey aimed to help defense companies break into the top 100 in the world and create at least three global brands in the defense sector.

Turkish officials have often said that boosting the country’s defense industry exports was one of the government's strategic goals. Ankara spent over $1 billion on defense, research and development in 2013.

Turkey’s defense industry has gained momentum in recent years, especially due to expansion by local producers. The country’s overall defense spending was 29.4 billion Turkish Liras ($13.2 billion) this year, according to the Defense Ministry.

Turkey spent about 1.71 percent of its gross domestic product on defense in 2014, far less than in the past. Turkey is currently negotiating a $3.5 billion deal for a long-range air and anti-missile defense system, including local production, with suppliers from China, the U.S. and Europe.