SSI 2022 Ordinary General Assembly Held in Ankara

The Ordinary General Assembly of Defense & Aerospace Industry Exporter Association (SSI) held with the participation of the President of the Defense Industry Agency (SSB) Prof. İsmail DEMİR, TUSAŞ CEO & Chairman of the Board of SSI Temel KOTİL, ASELSAN Chairman of the Board & General Manager Haluk GÖRGÜN, the representatives of SSI member companies and distinguished guests in Ankara.

During the initial session of the General Assembly, detailed information regarding the Defense Industry's Export and Import data for 2022 was presented to the participants. In the second session, following the speeches, the financial figures for the year 2022 were approved by the association's members.

According to the Defense Industry Export and Import presentation, Türkiye's Defense & Aerospace Industry had exports worth US$4.396 billion and imports worth US$4.978 billion. It was noted that the 2021-2022 import figures include the purchase of Turkish Airlines airplanes, which amounted to US$2-2.5 billion. Additionally, the Defense and Aerospace industry was ranked 15th among all sectors in terms of exports in 2022.

The top 10 commodity groups exported in 2022 consisted of the following groups:

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (US$1,015.2 billion)

Turbojets and Turbo propellers (US$610.7 million)

Land Vehicles (US$55.5 million)

Ammunition and Missile Systems (US$478.6 million)

Aircraft Components (US$309.8 million)

Shotguns (US$284.9 million)

Weapons and Gun Turrets (US$268.2 million)

Military Naval Platforms (US$160.1 million)

Military Helicopters (US$145.3 million)

Communication and Communications Support Systems (US$133.1 million)

In his speech at the general assembly, Prof. İsmail DEMİR, President of the Defense Industry Agency, emphasized that defense industry exports were ranked 15th among all sectors in Türkiye. He also highlighted the significance of collaboration between companies, particularly in international fair participation. “As you are aware, one of our responsibilities as the SSB is to coordinate the defense industry and support exports. We were all pleased with the rise in our export figures in 2022, but we must not lose sight of the fact that we still rank 15th in the country’s exports. We encourage countries to sign defense industry agreements with us. Within the framework of these agreements, we aim to create a roof and carry out our relations. We have already inked defense industry agreements with 84 countries, but the steps to be taken and the relations to be established after the signature are also very critical. It will be beneficial for us to approach the fairs in a more coordinated manner, and to analyze the input and output of each fair. It will be useful for the Defense and Aerospace Industry Exporters' Association, together with our colleagues, to come together with the relevant units of the companies after the fairs and make an analysis of why we attended, what we anticipated, what the results were, and how we should follow up and proceed. It is also critical for us that companies operating in the same field collaborate while participating in fairs rather than competing with one another other and carry out their activities without engaging in any direct competition that will potentially damage each other. As a mediation authority, we aim to take on a coordinating role in this respect.

Prof. DEMİR stressed that companies in the sector should stand out in areas other than unmanned aerial vehicles, emphasizing that export figures for the Turkish military industry are not strong enough despite the growth of the ecosystem. “The ecosystem in the Turkish defense industry is growing; more than 2,700 companies can no longer rely solely on domestic demand. The increase in our export figures is not satisfactory, we need to be even more aggressive in our goals. Our main players should export more. The use of our products in the operational environment is of great significance, and the most concrete example of this is the level of success we have achieved in export figures with UAVs/UCAVs. The fact that Türkiye is only recognized for its UAVs/UCAVs, however, overshadows our other areas of expertise. We expect other successful companies to come to the forefront on a national and global scale.” Prof. DEMİR stated that they are targeting US$10 billion in exports before 2025 with a more ambitious export goal for the upcoming period that encompasses the whole global market. “Our target market is, in fact, the entire world, we will continue to be active in all countries. Most countries have a strong demand to make government-to-government (G2G) agreements, which we also recommend. It is important to note that our goal is to increase exports by treating all our companies equally and at the same distance, whether they are state-owned, foundation-based, or privately-owned. This collaborative approach will help us build our platforms and generate even more attention. Nowadays, concepts such as domestic investment and technology transfer come to the fore, and it would be beneficial for us to facilitate and pave the way here as much as we can. We need to be transparent and play a catalyzing role in issues such as technology investment and production. Close collaboration is essential. Next year, before 2025, we hope to reach the 10-billion-dollar export target. With the introduction of platforms, these figures will rise significantly. The use of the products by other countries that we export to will also serve as a reference. We set a 6-billion-dollar export goal for 2023.”

Emphasizing that the defense industry export target for 2023 is 6 billion dollars, Temel KOTİL, Turkish Aerospace President and CEO, said: “Türkiye has made significant progress in the defense industry and has emerged as a dominant player and leader in the UAV field. BAYKAR deserves congratulations for its leading position, followed by TUSAŞ and other members of the industry. Türkiye has successfully achieved its export target for UAVs, which is expected to continue increasing. As previously stated, our target for 2023 is to reach 6 billion dollars. As an association, we are conducting vulnerability studies and exchanging information with SaSaD. The entire world is facing challenges in capacity expansion. This should be one of the top priority topics for the Defense Industry Agency, and Türkiye can take the lead here in terms of production capacity. There are no issues or weaknesses regarding our product development and design”