“The campaigns such as “Make your Own Plane”, “Make Your Own Arms” were initiated as a result of the arms embargo imposed following the Cyprus Peacekeeping Operation in 1974. The Turkish people showed great interest and contributed to these campaigns both financially and intangibly, and as a consequence the Subsidiaries of the Foundation performing activities today were established. The separate Foundations of Land, Naval and Air Forces performing activities previously were gathered under the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation with the law no 3388 dated 17 June 1987.

Besides its leadership to the developments in the Turkish Defence Industry with the companies holding shares, the Foundation has enabled the development and improvement of small and medium scaled companies by providing business opportunities. Taking into consideration nearly 14.000 personnel working at these companies together with their families, these companies have provided employment opportunities to nearly 50.000 people, hence a considerable employment opportunity has been created contributing to the country’s economy.