The growth that Türkiye has achieved in the defense and aerospace industry in recent years draws attention in terms of its economic and geostrategic consequences. According to the data announced by Defense Industry President Haluk Görgün, the sector’s exports in October 2026 increased by 61 percent compared to the same month last year, reaching 1 billion 140 million dollars. While exports in the January-October period increased by 21 percent to 8 billion 50 million dollars, exports in the last 12 months increased by 37 percent to 11 billion 357 million dollars. Considering that Türkiye will export 7.1 billion dollars in defense and aerospace in 2024 and 10 billion 54 million dollars in 2025, including service exports, the size of the sector becomes clearer.
7.5 TIMES DIFFERENCE IN EXPORTS
According to the data of the Ministry of Commerce, Türkiye’s total exports in October increased by 8.1 percent and reached 25 billion 885 million dollars. The 61 percent growth of the defense and aerospace sector in the same period shows that the general export growth rate has been reached approximately 7.5 times. Sector exports, which were approximately 708 million dollars in October 2025, increased by 432 million dollars in one year. Considering that the annual increase in Türkiye’s total exports was approximately 1.94 billion dollars, approximately 22 percent of the additional exports obtained in October resulted from the increase in the defense and aerospace sector.
IT IS 40 TIMES VALUABLE PER KILH
One of the most striking data showing the contribution of the defense industry to the Turkish economy is the export value per kilogram. According to data for the period June 2025-May 2026, the average value per kilogram in Türkiye’s general exports was 1.62 dollars, while this figure reached 65.16 dollars in the defense and aerospace industry. In other words, the export value per kilogram of defense products is approximately 40 times the country average.
NATO MARKET IS GROWING
NATO countries stand out in the geostrategic dimension of the rise in defense exports. Of the 10 billion 885 million dollars of exports between June 2025 and May 2026, 6 billion 235 million dollars were made to NATO countries. This amount corresponds to 57.28 percent of total exports.
RANKED 11TH IN THE WORLD
According to the report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in March 2026, Türkiye became the world’s 11th largest arms exporter in the 2021-2025 period. While Türkiye’s share in global arms transfers increased from 0.9 percent to 1.8 percent, the volume of major arms transfers increased by 122 percent compared to the previous five-year period. Türkiye’s main buyers include Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Ukraine.
HUGE DEAL
One of the remarkable developments regarding the future export potential of the defense industry was revealed with the statement made by ASELSAN on November 3, 2026. The company reported that it signed a $1.1 billion export contract with an international customer for the sale of air defense systems. It was not disclosed which country the agreement, recorded as the largest single-item export contract in ASELSAN’s history, was made with. The total of export contracts signed by the company in the first nine months of 2026 reached 1.9 billion dollars, and the balance orders exceeded 30 billion dollars.
12 BILLION DOLLAR TARGET
Türkiye achieved defense and aerospace exports of 8 billion 50 million dollars in the first 10 months of 2026. In order to complete the year with exports of 12 billion dollars, sales of approximately 3 billion 950 million dollars must be made in November and December. On the other hand, the rise in the defense industry is of strategic importance in terms of Türkiye’s high technology production and diversification of foreign exchange income. While more than 4,500 companies operate in the sector, direct employment exceeds 100 thousand. Annual R&D expenditures are over 3.5 billion dollars.
