Ankara: Trkiye's growing defense sector is close to breaking into the ranks of the world's top 10 defense exporters as domestically developed platforms gain widespread international trust, the head of the Turkish Defense Industries Secretariat (SSB) said at the agency's second anniversary event in Ankara.
According to Anadolu Agency, Haluk Gorgun, secretary of the SSB, stated that the global success of Turkish defense platforms was driving demand, with the agency and affiliated companies hosting numerous foreign delegations weekly. This surge in interest indicates that an increasing number of countries are seeking to purchase Turkish defense products.
Gorgun attributed the sector's global success primarily to its human capital, highlighting that the average age of defense industry employees in Trkiye is 34. Some companies, generating approximately $1 billion in revenue, have an average employee age of under 30. 'Thanks to its young and skilled workforce, Trkiye is ready to meet the needs of its allies for decades to come,' he said.
He further emphasized that nations survive through the capacity they build long before crises emerge. Gorgun mentioned that the National Competency Initiative, a framework approved at a defense meeting chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2024, represents the human resources and competency dimension of the country's national resilience strategy. The initiative has reached around 500,000 people, engaging various target groups through a common development model.
Gorgun also spoke about the importance of emerging fields in ensuring national security, including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, space exploration, and cybersecurity. 'We're determined to be one of the pioneers in this great technological race, since after all, foreign dependence for critical technologies could spell a silent transfer of sovereignty,' he remarked.
The initiative has engaged 2,541 students over five semesters and included 7,000 vocational and technical high school students in competency development initiatives. The Defense Industry Campus Program has been implemented in eight cities with 3,000 participants, and modules at universities have offered 288 courses to 4,991 students.
Career and competency meetings have been conducted with a total of 111,000 people, while the Defense Career Platform has brought together around 290,000 users and 339 companies. The platform also delivered approximately 665 training sessions totaling more than 158,000 hours to over 73,000 users, Gorgun added.
He concluded by stating that Erdogan's vision of full independence for the Turkish defense industry is 'the strongest pillar' supporting the sector through strategic planning.