The Aerospace and Defense Industry in Turkey has been influenced by evolving conditions like many sectors that have entered the process of structural transformation since the 1980s. Especially in the last decade, it has a tendency of rising only. This sector can be called as the rising star of the economy not only in Turkey but also all around the world.
Especially in recent years, when the sector is newly developed and the countries with great potential are taken into consideration, the sector is expected to have great demand in the coming period. Given the development of passenger and freight transport, which is decisive in civil aviation, and the predictions for these, estimations made by two leading producers of the industry indicate that there are a significant production and supply opportunity in the relevant sector.
Data in Numbers
- The Turkish defense industry has become a sector providing a turnover of 5 billion dollars and employing 50,000 people.
- In 2016, the Aerospace and Defense Sector Industry in Turkey realized a total turnover of $ 6 billion.
- The total trade volume of 10 companies in the Aegean Free Zone reached 1.5 billion dollars in 2016 with 1400 employees.
- In the last 5 years, the sector has increased its exports by about 2 times and realized export of 7.6 billion dollars in that period.
The latest projects of the sector
There are many projects in this field and some has just begun, and the rest is ongoing projects. A few of them are;
- Alp Aviation has just opened its new facilities in Eskişehir, the biggest factory for helicopters in Turkey, to manufacture materials for Sikorsky Helicopters.
- Nurol BAE Systems and MTU Aero Engines have signed a contract with AES by Safran named “Electronic Engine Control System Development Project”.
- Kale Group, one of Turkey’s leading defense contractors, will a launch a joint venture with the British automotive and aviation giant Rolls-Royce to develop and manufacture jet engines in Turkey.
- HMS Machinery in Mersin has been manufacturing pieces for Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier planes and they have succeeded in reaching export values of more than 500 dollars per kg.
Clusterings in Turkey
In the Aerospace and Defense Industry in Turkey, there are some important clusterings where the biggest companies come together and share the latest developments.
- Defense and Aviation Industry Manufacturers Association
- Ostim Defense and Aviation Cluster
- Aerospace Cluster Association
- Eskişehir Aviation Cluster
- Bursa Aerospace and Defense Cluster
Active Foreign Actors In The Turkish Market
There are many international companies that are actively involved in the sector in Turkey through partnerships with Turkish companies such as:
Sikorsky, Boeing, General Dynamic, SAAB, Fokker Elmo, BAE Systems, Safran, Dassault, Grumman, Thales, Rolls Royce, Lufthansa Technica, Airbus, Bombardier, Embraer, Eurocopter, Honeywell, Sabca, Zodiac.
The Potential in the Sector
The Boeing firm predicts regarding 2034, and 38,050 new planes will be needed and 26,730 of them are going to be single-corridor planes, in order to meet the demand. In addition, 8,830 large-body aircraft will be needed. Considering that a large part of this need will emerge in the Central Asian and European countries, significant opportunities will appear in terms of the development of this sector and its position as an important supplier in our country. In this respect, it is important to develop the production and service experience related to the sector in our target country, to develop necessary skills and to improve human resources.
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