The domestic and national defense industry, in which Turkey has made significant strides in recent years, continued on its way at full speed in 2022. The sector, which has accomplished successful works on a wide scale from Kızılelma to National Combat Aircraft, from typhoon missiles to unmanned sea vehicles, broke a new record by exceeding 4 billion dollars in exports.
In the news of Sertaç Aksan from TRT Haber; 2022 was a very productive year for the Turkish Defense Industry, which has made a name for itself in the world with the strong steps taken. Realizing very valuable works in a wide range of fields from land systems to air and space studies, from naval platforms to other critical complementary subsystems, the sector broke a new record by exceeding its export target of 4 billion dollars by the end of the year.
The ongoing work under the coordination of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) has become a very important reference for the coming periods, especially in 2023.
“We have strengthened our strength”
Defense Industry President İsmail Demir underlined that important developments were experienced this year and that the targets were largely achieved. Pointing to the systems designed, developed, and produced with domestic and national resources, Prof. Dr. Demir said, “By putting our SİHAs, naval platforms, land vehicles, missiles, unmanned land, and sea vehicles, and electronic warfare systems into the service of our security forces, we have added strength to their strength in the field. In 2023, under the leadership of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, we will continue to implement our national technology moves one by one in our goal of a fully independent defense industry.” said.
Red apple on the MMU production line in the sky
Undoubtedly, one of the most interesting moments of this year was the meeting of the Red Apple humanoid combat aircraft produced by Baykar with the sky. Important work will be carried out throughout 2023 for Kızılelma, which took off shortly after the runway tests.
There was an interesting surprise in the National Combat Plane bearing the signature of TAI. The plane was spotted on the final assembly line. Another good news for MMU is the update on the first flight date. The first flight date, previously expected in 2025, has been moved to October 29, 2024.
In 2022, the National Combat Aircraft Engineering Center, the largest composite production building in our country, and the Space Systems Engineering Center were put into service.
SİHA deliveries continued at full speed
Unmanned aerial vehicles are one of the first platforms that come to mind when the Turkish defense industry is mentioned.
Platforms such as Akıncı, Aksungur, ANKA, Bayraktar TB-2, and Kargu were delivered to the relevant forces one after another.
2022 was a milestone not only in the production and delivery of SİHAs but also in terms of the variety of ammunition they fired. TEBER-82, KGK-SİHA-82, LGK-82 guidance kits, TOLUN miniature bomb, and TRG-230-UAV were added to the ammunition fired from Akıncı TİHA.
BOYGA and TOGAN are in inventory for the first time
Turkey, which has become one of the leading countries in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles, also gave a good test this year regarding UAVs that can serve different purposes.
UAV BOYGA, which left the ammunition, entered the inventory for the first time. The first deliveries of the rotary wing national spotter İHA TOGAN, which was developed for reconnaissance, surveillance, and intelligence purposes, were also made.
The KERKES Project, which enables domestic and national UAVs to operate in areas without GPS, was successfully completed and delivered to the relevant force.
A400M fleet complete
The steps taken in the field of aviation are not limited to these… We continued to extend the lifespan of the F-16s in the inventory with structural improvements. With the delivery of the last A400M transport aircraft, the A400M fleet of 10 aircraft has been completed.
At this point, two very important export news for aviation came again in 2022… ATAK Helicopter and AKINCI TİHA were exported for the first time.
A new page for the Blue Homeland
One of the most important reflections of the many projects under the auspices of the Presidency of Defense Industries was undoubtedly seen in the seas… The defense industry sector, which rolled up its sleeves for a much stronger and independent Turkey in the Blue Homeland, successfully completed 2022.
In this context, Turkey’s first intelligence ship, TCG UFUK, was put into service. The shooting of Hızır Reis, one of the new type submarines, into the pool and the first welding ceremony of Selman Reis were held.
Head of Defense Industry Prof. Dr. 2022 has been a turning point for the unmanned naval platforms that İsmail Demir particularly focuses on.
With projects such as ULAQ, SALVO, SANCHAR, MIR, ALBATROS, and MARLIN, serious progress has been made in bringing unmanned sea vehicles to the Turkish Navy. In addition, the Herd IDA efforts were accelerated.
On the other hand, with the new deliveries of control boats, the security of Turkish coasts has been further increased.
Turkey exported tanks for the first time
The year we left behind was also full of successes in terms of land vehicles. This year, unmanned land vehicles of various types and levels were delivered according to the needs of the security forces.
One of the most important export news for Turkey in 2022 came from land systems. With the delivery of KAPLAN MT medium-class tanks to Indonesia, Turkey has exported tanks for the first time. In addition, the first delivery of PARS 6×6 mine-protected vehicles was made. The first armored combat vehicle with an integrated unmanned gun turret was also delivered.
Typhoon made its debut
For the Turkish Defense Industry, 2022 was also extremely successful for missiles. The first test missile launch of the HİSAR O+ system with a radio frequency seeker added a new capability to our air defense.
The portable air defense missile system Sungur entered the service of Mehmetçi with its version fired from the shoulder by a single soldier.
The first firing of the TAYFUN missile, whose range was announced to be further increased in the near future, took place this year.
In addition to all these developments, the first delivery of the Pedestal Mounted Javelin weapon system was made. The ŞAHİN 40 mm Physical Destruction System, developed for the destruction of Mini/Micro UAVs, entered the inventory for the first time. The KTJ3200 Turbojet engine to be used in SOM and ATMACA missiles was delivered and mass production started.
While the Air Traffic Radar System was delivered to the TAF for the first time in 2022, a 7.62 mm machine gun, 5.56 infantry rifle, METE gun, Turkey’s first multiple grenade launcher TG40-BA, portable ammunition system, grenade box, passive exoskeleton Steps have also been taken in this regard.
The PMT 12.7 mm machine gun, which was produced for the first time locally and nationally, went into mass production this year. The first x-ray vehicle and container scanning system MİLTAR (National Scanning System) was installed at the facility in İzmir Alsancak Port.
