Turkey: $11 billion in orders for defense industry

ANKARA

 The Turkish defense industry received $11 billion in orders in 2014, according to a report from the Defense Industry Manufacturers Association, (SaSaD) on Friday. 

The sector achieved an average annual growth rate of 21 percent for the last 5 years. Many orders were from the Turkish Armed Forces since 2005 in line with Undersecretariat for Defense Industries of Turkey's growth and development strategies for the sector, Nail Kurt, chairman of the Turkish Defense Industries Exporters' Association told Anadolu Agency. 

"The lion's share in the sector growth come from domestic projects but domestic projects should not be expected to be increased.Thereafter, export and international cooperation projects will determine its future growth," Kurt said.

A major order came for aircraft parts at $6.9 billion. The Turkish defense aviation industry is involved in a number of major international joint design and production programs, such as F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and A400M Large Transport Aircraft.

Another major order at $2.6 billion was for a wide range of tracked and wheeled armored vehicles which are configured as personnel carrier, reconnaissance, communication, command & control, ambulances or platforms for various weapons. 

Industry revenue reached over $5.1 billion in 2014, an increase from $5.07 billion in 2013 and its export capacity was nearly $1.9 billion dollars last year, up from $1.6 billion from the previous year. The defense industry also imported over $1 billion in technology products from abroad. 

Turkey aims to have defense companies among the top 100 major companies in the world, and to create at least three global brands in the defense sector. Ankara spent over $1 billion on defense, research and development in 2014, making defense the sector with the largest research and development  investment in the country.