Türkiye has inked $15 billion in new defense contracts this year, targeting $20 billion by the end of the year, according to a senior official on Saturday.
Haluk Görgün, the head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), announced that new contracts worth $15 billion had been signed with companies in the defense industry in 2026. He stated that they expect this figure to reach $20 billion by the end of the year.
Görgün evaluated orders placed with domestic companies in the sector during the workshop held with subcontractors in the northwestern Bursa province.
At the same time, he also noted that the sector’s main contractors, Aselsan, Roketsan, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), Havelsan and STM, had worked with more than 16,000 domestic companies over the past three years and placed orders worth over $20 billion with these firms.
He added that the current value of outstanding domestic orders in the sector exceeds $13.4 billion.
Pointing to the fact that growth in exports has significantly outpaced the increase in Türkiye’s overall exports, Görgün stated that the export value per kilogram is 40 times the national average.
In September alone, the defense and aerospace industry's exports increased by 10.7% compared to the same month last year, reaching $634 million. In the first nine months of the year, they rose by 15.6% to $6.92 billion, Görgün said earlier this month.
"We have successfully completed the Subcontractor and Supply Chain Management Workshop in the Defense and Aviation Sector. With the participation of 209 of our companies and over 1,000 B2B meetings, a strong foundation of interaction and collaboration was established among the units of our presidency, our main contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers," the SSB head said in a social media post on Sunday.
He also noted that within the scope of the workshop, they evaluated the actions implemented in line with the recommendations put forward in the previous meeting and also discussed the road maps for new recommendations.
"In line with the National Competence Initiative, we are deepening our competencies in every link of our defense industry, from subsystems to critical components, from supply chains to production capabilities, and building sustainable success together," he added.
Years of investments have helped Türkiye transform from a nation heavily reliant on equipment from abroad to one where homegrown systems meet almost all of its defense industry needs.
The Turkish defense industry has also emerged as a key driver of R&D advancement and the export of high-value-added products.