Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today, Saturday, that his country has become one of the leading countries around the world in the manufacture of drones and warships, noting that Turkey occupies a place among the first 3-4 countries in the production of drones of all kinds in the world.
This came in a speech by the Turkish President during the ceremony of landing the Istanbul frigate at sea, and the first welding operation for the third warship manufactured for the benefit of Pakistan.
He explained during the ceremony, which was held at a shipyard in Istanbul, that his country has become one of the 10 countries that design and manufacture their warships.
Erdogan said that "nations that do not possess sufficient strength and independence in defense industries cannot look to their future with confidence, adding that being strong militarily, economically and diplomatically is a necessity and not an option, and Turkey is a government and citizens that bear a great responsibility in this regard."
Erdogan stressed that Turkey is obliged to enjoy the maximum degree of deterrence in order to ensure its national security and defend the rights of its friends, noting that the number of defense industry projects in Turkey is about 700, compared to only 62 in 2002.
He stressed that Turkey has become a country that fulfills its need and meets the needs of allied countries in terms of land and sea vehicles, explaining that his country is working to manufacture 6 advanced submarines to carry out its duties starting from 2022, at the rate of one submarine annually.
Regarding cooperation with Islamabad, Erdogan said that today we take the Turkish-Pakistani brotherhood a step forward, and the two countries will continue their cooperation in various fields, and he indicated that the two countries face together the danger of terrorist organizations, stressing that their cooperation will contribute to facing this.
Erdogan (right) receives a model for the new frigate (Anatolia)
Domestic defender
In a related context, the Turkish company BMC (BMC) for the manufacture of commercial and military vehicles, on Friday, delivered 3 new home-made cannons to the Turkish Armed Forces in a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.
During the ceremony for the handover of the guns, Akar stressed that eliminating dependency on the outside is of vital importance, especially in the defense industries, indicating that his country has achieved important achievements in this field.
And in 2020, the value of Turkish exports from the defense and air industries reached two billion and 279 million dollars, despite the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, according to the data of the Turkish Exporters Council.
The list of countries that imported Turkish defense and air industry products included 26 countries, most notably Russia, Bahrain, France, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Ukraine, Italy, Iran, Greece and Somalia.