Turkish defense and aerospace exports maintain uninterrupted growth

ANKARA

Türkiye’s investments in the defense and aerospace industry have driven an annual increase in exports since 2020.

The momentum achieved in exports of domestically developed products and munitions resulting from investments in air, land and naval platforms has increased the defense and aerospace industry’s share of the country’s total exports.

The industry provides security solutions through its production capacity covering a wide range of products, from military vessels and land systems to manned and unmanned aerial vehicles of various sizes, as well as missiles, rockets and munitions.

Security-related challenges in various regions around the world, particularly the Russia-Ukraine war, have increased countries’ demand for products ranging from large-scale land, naval and air platforms to first-person-view, or FPV, drones. Türkiye is using its capabilities to meet the needs of friendly and allied countries.

According to data compiled from the Turkish Exporters Assembly, or TİM, defense and aerospace exports stood at $2.28 billion in 2020, when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were being felt across global trade and production.

As the impact of the pandemic eased, exports rose to $3.23 billion in 2021, with the upward trend continuing in subsequent years. The industry’s overseas sales increased to $4.4 billion in 2022, $5.55 billion in 2023 and $6.74 billion in 2024. Exports reached $10.02 billion in 2025, exceeding the $10 billion threshold for the first time.

Defense and aerospace exports therefore increased uninterruptedly between 2020 and 2025. The industry expanded its overseas sales 4.4-fold over the five-year period, while its share of Türkiye’s total exports also grew. The sector’s share of overall exports rose from 1.5 percent in 2020 to 4.2 percent in 2025.

Exports worth $2.57 billion in December 2025 also represented the industry’s highest monthly figure on record.

According to TİM data, the defense and aerospace industry recorded exports of $8.05 billion in the January-October period, an increase of 20.2 percent from the same period last year.

The sector therefore increased its exports by approximately $1.35 billion in value during the first 10 months of the year, surpassing its performance in the corresponding periods of previous years.

With its performance this year, the industry is expected to maintain its uninterrupted export growth in 2026.

Large-scale export contracts signed by defense and aerospace companies in 2026, with deliveries extending into subsequent years, support expectations of further growth in the coming period.