Turkish Defence Industry; One of the Major Player in World Defence
Ayşe AKALIN Publisher & Editor in Chief
Under SSM’s leadership, 42 Turkish Defence companies attended to IDEX 2007, the 8th International Defence Industry Exhibition conducted in Abu Dhabi-United Arab Emirates between 18-22 February 2007, on an area of 3000 m2 as the “Turkish Pavillion”. Minister of National Defence H.E. M.Vecdi GÖNÜL and Undersecretary for Defence Industries Murad BAYAR were officially invited to the exhibition by BAE. The Turkish delegation headed by Minister H.E. M. Vecdi GÖNÜL conducted intense bilateral negotiations with more than 20 official delegations (comprising of senior level officials as Defence Minister, Chief of General Staff, Undersecretary) from 17 participating countries (Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Oman, Malaysia, Republic of South Korea, South Africa, Egypt, Finland, Norway, Ukraine, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Bulgaria) during the exhibition. The Turkish delegation had official discussions with General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al NAHYAN (Abu Dhabi Crown Prince) and other senior level officials. On the other hand Turkey was given an award for having the largest exhibit space among national pavilions at IDEX 2007. The award was given by the UAE Armed Forces GHQ and ADNEC (Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company).
Turkish defence industry has been developing significantly day by day. It is expected that in 5-10 years local industry will reach at a level that meets majority of the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces, with its own capabilities and research studies about nationally designed products, except for some platforms. Latest activities and developments in defence industry have proven us that Turkish Industry has became one of the major players of the world defence team with its competitive structure and sound vision.
In recent years, research and development activities in defence industry have increased significantly. Within the scope of 7th framework program, Security has been determined as separate research field. EU Framework Programs national coordination office in TUBITAK provides support to the Turkish researchers involved in projects in order to facilitate Turkey’s participation to EU Framework Programs more actively and efficiently. On the other hand METU, one of the leading research universities with an international standard education system in Turkey, has established the first Teknopolis of Turkey in order to provide a cooperative platform to meet collaborate the research capabilities of METU with the industry.
You will find much more Turkish Defence Industry news in the issue; including an interview with Prof. Dr. Ural Akbulut, President of METU and Mr. Khoen Liem , The Representative of EU DG Enterprise and Industry, JSF contract ceremony, latest developments about defence projects and defence companies.
Enjoy the forth issue
