Turkish Defense & Aerospace Industry Makes a Grand Entrance at WDS 2024 with 65 Companies!
The Gulf Region and the Middle East are crucial export markets for the Turkish Defense and Aerospace Industry. In 2023, Türkiye successfully exported 230 types of defense and aerospace products to 185 countries across different geographies. Türkiye has signed contracts for the sale of 770 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to 50 countries, many of which are in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and for the export of 4,500 4x4, 6x6, and 8x8 Tactical Wheeled Vehicles to 40 countries.
Due to its NATO-standard high-tech product range, competitive pricing, and openness to technology transfer, Türkiye has garnered significant interest in Middle Eastern and African countries. In recent years, Turkish Defense and Aerospace Industry firms have signed three-digit contracts for the export of defense and aerospace products to countries in these two markets.
The WDS 2024 Fair, organized by the Saudi Arabian General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) and held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from February 4-8, 2024, is under the patronage of King Salman Bin ABDULAZIZ Al Saud. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin SALMAN, who is also the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, serves as the Chairman of the GAMI Board of Directors.
Held under the theme "Ready for Tomorrow!" and lasting five days, the WDS 2024 Fair showcased defence companies serving the Air, Land, Sea, Space, and Security sectors. The fair spanned a total area of 800,000 square meters, with approximately 45,000 square meters of indoor space. The facilities included three large exhibition halls, open-air exhibition areas, a special track for mobility demonstrations of land vehicles, a 3 km long and 50 m wide runway built to transport participants' products, taxiways, and a static aircraft park. The fairground is located about 70 km from Riyadh city center, roughly a 90-minute drive. Since the venue is also an airbase, live flight demonstrations were performed during the fair, including shows by the Turkish Stars and the Chinese Air Force Bayi Aerobatics Team.
On the first day of the fair, February 4th (Sunday), access was limited to VIP visitors, official delegations, government institutions, participants, and the media. Commercial visitors could tour the fair from February 5-8, 2024. Alongside the fair, the Future Defense Forum Conference, focusing on maritime defense, cybersecurity, and space technologies, featured speakers from the Turkish Defense and Aerospace Industry. Additionally, the International Women's Role in Defence Program brought together prominent female leaders from around the world, highlighting their achievements and contributions to the global defense and security sector.
The third World Defense Show (WDS 2026) Fair, organized by the Saudi Arabian General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), will be held from February 8 to 12, 2026.
WDS 2024 Fair
The first World Defense Show (WDS) was held in 2022, aiming to become not only the leading and most prestigious defense and security fair in its region but also globally. The WDS 2022 Fair, organized over a 33,000 square meter indoor area, saw participation from more than 600 defense and security sector companies from over 40 countries and was visited by 65,000 professionals. During the WDS 2022 Fair, Türkiye did not participate in an official pavilion due to the political tension between the two countries just starting to ease. The defense contracts signed during the fair amounted to a total value of 29.7 Billion Saudi Riyals (US$7.92 Billion).
The WDS 2024 Fair saw participation from 773 companies from 76 countries and 441 international delegations from 116 countries, welcoming 106,000 local and international professional visitors over five days. The fair, followed by 954 press members from around the world, including Defence Turkey Magazine, witnessed the signing of 73 agreements, 17 of which were offset agreements, with a total contract value announced at 26 Billion Saudi Riyals. For the first time, 23 countries participated in the fair, including Türkiye, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Australia, Denmark, Azerbaijan, Taiwan, Colombia, Croatia, and Estonia.
Participation of Turkish Defense and Aerospace Industry in the Fair
The Secretariat of Defence Industries (SSB) has long supported national participation in defense fairs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to raise awareness of the capabilities of the Turkish Defense and Aerospace Industry. In this context, Turkish Defense and Aerospace Industry companies have participated nationally in major international defense and aerospace fairs held in the MENA region, such as IDEX/NAVDEX (UAE), DIMDEX (Qatar), SOFEX (Jordan), Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS), and Africa Aerospace & Defense (AAD).
Under the auspices of the Secretariat of Defence Industries (SSB) and with the support of the Defense and Aerospace Industry Exporters' Association (SSİ), Turkish Defense and Aerospace Industry companies participated nationally in the WDS 2024 Fair. According to GAMI data, as of July 2023, 29 Turkish defense and security companies were located in the 3,229 m² Türkiye Pavilion. According to the official website of the fair, the Turkish Defense and Aerospace Industry was represented by 65 companies and institutions, including ALP HAVACILIK, ALTAY DEFENCE, ARES SHIPYARD, ARMELSAN, ASELSAN, ASFAT, BAYKAR, BİTES, BMC, CTECH, DEARSAN, FNSS, HAVELSAN, İŞBİR, KAREL, LENTATEK, KEYVAN AVIATION, MKE, MİİLUX OY, MİLSOFT, NUROL MAKİNA, NUROL TECHNOLOGY, OTOKAR, ROKETSAN, STM, TAIS, TEI, TUSAŞ, YDS, and YONCA SHIPYARD. Thus, Türkiye became the third-largest participant in the fair, following host Saudi Arabia (162 companies) and the USA (101 companies). China participated with 27 companies, France with 43, Italy with 13, the United Kingdom with 35, and the Russian Federation with 4 companies (though ROSOBORON Export represented over 20 companies within its scope).
Saudi Arabia's 2030 Vision and New Opportunities for the Turkish Defense and Aerospace Industry
During the Arab Spring, relations between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia deteriorated due to Türkiye's close relationship with Qatar and the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. As tensions escalated, Saudi Arabia imposed an import ban on Turkish goods in September 2020 and decided to embargo products labeled 'Made in Türkiye' starting October 1, 2020. This period of strained relations also affected Defense and Aerospace Industry firms, with projects such as the sale of ANKA UAVs and MİLGEM Corvettes to Saudi Arabia being shelved. From 2020 onwards, relations began to improve. On November 21, 2020, during a phone call between President Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, both leaders agreed to keep “channels of dialogue open” to enhance bilateral relations and resolve issues. President ERDOĞAN’s visit to Saudi Arabia on April 28-29, 2022, upon the invitation of King Salman, marked the beginning of a new chapter in bilateral relations. Subsequently, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman visited Türkiye in June 2022 at President ERDOĞAN’s invitation, and ERDOĞAN made an official visit to Saudi Arabia on July 17, 2023. During this visit, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman met with President ERDOĞAN. Both visits attracted significant international attention.
The topic of the Defence Industry emerges as one of the most significant reasons for the normalization of Türkiye’s relations with Middle Eastern and Gulf countries. Through this normalization, Türkiye can export its indigenous products, developed with national resources, to Gulf countries, which, despite not having cash flow issues, are now focusing on domestic production. This can be achieved through options like domestic production and 'know-how' transfer. Defense orders amounting to billions of dollars will significantly contribute to meeting defense export targets and help Türkiye overcome its current economic crisis.
As of November 2023, Saudi Arabia aims to increase the local contribution to its defence production from 15% to 50% by 2030 as part of its Vision 2030. In line with this vision, Saudi Arabia established the National Company for Mechanical Systems (NCMS) in 2006 and the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) holding company in Riyadh in 2017. The mega defense projects initiated under Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 offer promising collaboration opportunities for Turkish Defense and Aerospace Industry companies. In July 2023, a significant contract was signed between the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defense and BAYKAR TECHNOLOGY for the sale and production of AKINCI Armed UAV Systems. This contract, disclosed during the Fair, involves an order of 60 AKINCI UAVs, with the first batch to be delivered in 2025 and local production and final assembly to begin in Saudi Arabia from 2026. The financial value of this agreement, announced by President of Turkish Defence Industries Haluk GÖRGÜN, was US$3.1 Bllion, marking the largest export agreement in the defense and aerospace sector in the history of the Turkish Republic. On August 7, 2023, a Technology Localization Agreement was signed between SAMI Defense and BAYKAR TECHNOLOGY for the local production of AKINCI Armed UAVs in Saudi Arabia. The success of exporting AKINCI UAVs to Saudi Arabia has brought additional opportunities. NCMS, focusing on optical, optronic, electronic, and composite material technologies, has signed Technology Localization Agreements with ASELSAN and ROKETSAN for certain subsystems and munitions on the AKINCI UAV. BAYKAR, with product exports totaling $1.766 Billion in 2023, became the top exporter in the Turkish Defense and Aerospace Sector. With the commencement of deliveries to Saudi Arabia, a significant increase in export revenues is expected. With this agreement, Saudi Arabia became the seventh customer of the AKINCI Armed UAV, following Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Libya, Kyrgyzstan, and Ethiopia. The initial batch of AKINCI UAVs will be delivered to Saudi Arabia through direct sales, while from early 2026, local production, final assembly, and deliveries will commence at SAMI facilities in Saudi Arabia.
Previously, LENTATEK had successfully sold the KARAYEL-SU Armed UAVs in collaboration with its local partner INTRA Defence Technologies in Saudi Arabia. LENTATEK had also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Advanced Electronics Company (AEC), based in Saudi Arabia, during the Dubai Air Show in November 2017, for the manufacture of electronic systems for the KARAYEL UAV. It was reported in the media that there was a target to produce a total of 40 KARAYEL-SU Armed UAVs over five years from 2021 to 2025. Saudi Arabia’s decision not to order Tactical Class BAYRAKTAR TB2 UAVs under its agreement with BAYKAR TECHNOLOGY, opting instead only for the MALE Class AKINCI Armed UAV, has been interpreted as a sign of their satisfaction with the Tactical Class KARAYEL-SU UAVs in their inventory.
Saudi Arabia was previously interested in MİLGEM Corvettes and there has been in ongoing negotiations for the sale of various types of warships, including five frigates (with one to be built in Türkiye and four in Saudi Arabia) and landing ships for use in different naval operations. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is also planning to procure a substantial number of 4x4 and 8x8 tactical wheeled armored vehicles, MRAP type 4x4 armored vehicles, and air defense systems. In the international tenders opened for the Saudi Arabian Royal Land Forces' requirements for 4x4 MRAP, and 8x8 tactical wheeled armored vehicles, Turkish companies BMC, FNSS, Nurol Makina, and Otokar have submitted bids and participated in field/mobility tests in Saudi Arabia with their indigenous solutions. In this context, BMC participated with the 8x8 ALTUĞ, FNSS unveiled the 8x8 PARS ALPHA for the first time during the WDS 2024 Fair, Nurol Makina joined with the EJDER YALÇIN 4x4 featuring an ASELSAN turret and a 25mm cannon, and Otokar participated with both the COBRA II (equipped with a 25mm turret) and the ARMA 8x8 in the mobility tests conducted last summer. Additionally, Otokar sent the COBRA II MRAP to Saudi Arabia for testing under a different tender
