Defence Turkey: Dear Mr. Öner Tekin, first of all we would like to thank you for your time. In the beginning of last April, you were appointed as the General Manager at VESTEL Defence Industry and AYESAŞ companies under the auspices of the VESTEL Group of Companies. Since your assignment, what are the pros and cons that you’ve observed, and as an expert within the sector what is your opinion on the status of your companies as well as the sector? Could you please share your assessments?

I was not far removed from the sector on account of my previous assignment; I was partially included in the sector and in the part of the businesses that related to the defense industry. Upon my appointment I endeavored to work on the issues that related 100% to the sector, and I can make an unprejudiced and objective assessment from an outsider’s view. Upon analysis, it is apparent that progress in the defense industry increased especially in the last 14-15 years. From a country lacking indigenous products and an external dependent structure, Turkey has become a country capable of designing and manufacturing unique products through local resources, endeavoring to diminishment of its foreign dependency, and demonstrating willful determination. We once again witnessed this improvement at IDEF 2017. Surely, we still have deficiencies to be addressed and several bureaucratic processes need to be improved. Especially the existing legal hurdles in the areas comprising high-tech must be effectively overcome. I rely on the fact that we will be improving these in time. To sum up briefly, I can say that our defense industry possesses fantastic potential.