Turkish military manufacturers willing to meet export demand at Paris Air Show

Turkish military manufacturers willing to meet export demand at Paris Air Show

Sabah Daily and AFP

Istanbul June 21, 2023 - 1:40 pm GMT+3

Anka, military-grade aircraft developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Aircraft, at the Paris Air Show, on June 19, 2023 in Le Bourget, north of Paris, France. (US EPA photo)

Sabah Daily and AFP June 21, 2023 1:40 pm

Turkish defense manufacturers will start work this week. The Paris air show, the first in a four-year conflict that included Russia's invasion of Ukraine, showcased the country's weapons.

Best known is government-owned Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), just a few steps from heavyweights such as Airbus and Boeing in front of a tarmac display of armed drones, helicopters and a newly developed flight trainer remote. more than. Bourget Airport.

Toure's military team, including one from Brazil, was spotted visiting the plane while drones took pictures of the bomb and missile-laden drone.

As an arms buyer, "Turkey benefits from a 'third way': less political constraints than in the West, but more neutral and guaranteed interests than buying arms from Russia, China or Iran," said researcher Leo Peria-Peigne. The French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) wrote in a recent press release.

One of the country's most popular products is the armed drone, partly controlled by the TB2 Bayraktar produced by the private company Baykar, which has no owners at the airport.

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies' "Military Balance," the noise in the last month of last year was caused by Ukraine's first defense against a Russian attack and was bought by a dozen soldiers.

After last week's $367 million purchase of Kuwait's Bayraktar TB2 drone, Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar said the company had signed export deals with 30 countries this year.

Like Baykar, TAI's drones have been sold around the world in recent years, including in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Algeria and Tunisia, according to arms control agency SIPRI.

TAI drone manager Omer Yıldız told AFP that there is "a lot of demand in Africa right now" for drones, which countries want to "fight terrorism".

Turkish drones have been "very useful and effective in fighting terrorism" in Turkey near Syria, he added, where Ankara's army has been conducting terrorist activities.

Elsewhere in Africa, SIPRI data shows that Niger and Chad bought TAI's Hürküş-C trainer turboprop, which is also used for aerial training.

The company also demonstrated the non-combat use of its drones, demonstrating their use to rebuild phone lines in some areas after a devastating February earthquake in the southeastern south of the country.

Their radars have also been used to detect Russian and Ukrainian mines threatening commercial shipping in the Black Sea since Moscow attacked its neighbors last year.

"Good stuff and good prices"

TAI's Yıldız mentioned the company's newest drone model, the Anka, a jet-powered delta-wing aircraft that looks more like an American stealth bomber than a female drone.

Because of its high cost and increased power, the drone "is expected to perform ground missions for the F-16" US fighter jet, he said.

Turkey has historically adopted Western technology and indigenous equipment, driven by Ankara, USA. In the 1970s, he imposed an arms embargo on Cyprus, leading to a Greek Cypriot rebellion seeking Greek integration into the island. Türkiye acts as a guardian protecting Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.

IFRI's Beria-Peigne wrote that this category "increases capacity is determined through the use of industrial funds, which require high costs, such as technology transfer, development of local production or cooperation with Western industrial groups".

He added that "there has been a lot of focus on aviation technology since the 2000s" and that the Turkish military's interest in drones is increasing.

USA only recommends this. Ankara refuses to buy NATO Turkish F-35 fighter jets after buying air missiles from Russia.

Across Le Bourget, Ruşen Kömürcü, secretary-general of the Manufacturers' Association of Turkey's Defense and Aerospace Industries (SASAD), heartened the group's numbers: 100,000 jobs and $10 billion in revenue, $4.4 billion. is being exported.

When asked why things were better at home, he said that in Turkey "you can get good things at good prices." and a simple room behind the base of the rocket maker Roketsan is nearly filled with improvised explosive devices.

"Our business is growing as we develop new systems to meet the needs of the Turkish military," he told AFP.

Odabash added that "we now have the capability" to supply "high-precision missiles, naval missiles, long-range missiles" that appeal to customers in the Middle East and the Gulf. The

Baykar product and the TAI long-range drone helped Roketsan win customers in Africa and Europe, he said.

In a complex network of international defense manufacturers, Roketsan is the only one producing some of the components used in Raytheon Patriot aircraft engines that have been delivered to Ukraine, such as the ones that make equipment for NATO aircraft such as the Airbus A400M aircraft carrier Tai.

In the future, "50% of our sales will come from other countries. I believe it should be more," Odabaş said.

The head of the industrial group Kömürcü expects that in the next few years, “a large number (of Turkish soldiers) will be exported, possibly $10 billion from our country.”

This puts Turkey behind French exporters, who, according to government statistics, Arms worth 11.7 billion ($12.3 billion) were sold overseas in 2021.

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Last Updated: Jun 21, 2023 4:23 PM

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