NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visited ASELSAN facilities in Ankara on April 22 and said NATO allies could learn from what he described as Türkiye’s “defense industry revolution.”
"We can learn a lot from what Türkiye is doing here," Rutte said.
"This is needed because we live in a more dangerous world... and that means we need strong defenses to protect our security".
Rutte said: "Türkiye has gone through a defense industrial revolution. I could really say it's a revolution in recent years".
Rutte said the alliance would do "what's necessary to defend" its members including Türkiye after intercepting four missiles fired from Iran and head into Turkish air space over the past weeks.
A member of the U.S.-led defense alliance, Türkiye, which borders Iran, has been largely spared the sort of retaliation from Tehran suffered by countries in the Middle East before the ceasefire.
NATO forces had shot down ballistic missiles fired from Iran for four times, prompting the alliance to deploy a new Patriot missile battery at Incirlik air base in southern Türkiye.
"Iran is spreading terror and chaos, and you feel this prominently here in Türkiye," Rutte said.
"In recent weeks, NATO has successfully intercepted ballistic missiles heading to Türkiye from Iran on four separate occasions," he said.
"NATO is prepared for such threats and will always do what is necessary to defend Türkiye and all others. And we cannot do it alone," he added.
Rutte's visit comes ahead of a July summit by NATO leaders to be held in Ankara.
The NATO chief is due to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
