By Thierry DIME – Le Monde Economique

In the span of a decade, Turkey has undergone a strategic transformation as rare as it is spectacular, transforming its defense landscape from a dependent industry into an autonomous and conquering innovation hub.

A Geostrategic Vision

While it was still massively importing its military equipment in the early 2000s, Turkey now ranks among the world’s top ten arms exporters, with sales exceeding $4.5 billion in 2023. This transformation goes far beyond the technical framework: it embodies a geostrategic and economic vision from which business leaders can draw important lessons in industrial sovereignty, innovation, and positioning in global markets.

The Turkish gamble rests on a deliberate and continuous strategy, initiated in the 1980s but vigorously accelerated under the Erdogan era. The « Vision 2023 » plan, aligned with the centenary of the Republic, set clear objectives: reduce dependence on foreign suppliers and develop an integrated national ecosystem. The results are tangible. The share of domestically manufactured military equipment in Turkish armed forces orders increased from 20% in 2002 to nearly 80% in 2023. This dynamic is driven by giants such as ASELSAN in defense electronics, ROKETSAN in missiles, and the now-famous BAYKAR, whose Bayraktar TB2 drones have become a strategic export product, deployed in more than thirty countries, from Ukraine to Azerbaijan. The success of these drones, capable of inflicting significant losses on conventional armies for a fraction of the cost of Western systems, has constituted a strategic breakthrough.

As an Ankara-based defense analyst emphasizes, « the Bayraktar is not just a drone, it’s a foreign policy tool. It has demonstrated that Ankara could develop, produce, and export a first-rate military capability without having to go through traditional NATO suppliers. »

On the economic front, this sector has become a powerful engine. The defense industry generates annual revenue exceeding $10 billion and directly employs more than 75,000 highly qualified engineers and technicians. It acts as a catalyst for the entire national technological ecosystem, with obvious spillover effects in the civilian sectors of aeronautics, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. The economic model is based on a close symbiosis between the public and private sectors: the Turkish state, via the Presidency of Defense Industries, provides the initial order and R&D funding, while companies, often led by a new generation of engineer-entrepreneurs, benefit from great operational agility. This approach contrasts with the cumbersome nature of European consortia and has enabled a rapid, iterative innovation cycle oriented toward concrete operational needs.

The Turkish trajectory thus offers a textbook case for Western countries. It demonstrates that technological sovereignty is not a utopia, provided one combines a long-term political vision, sustained investments, and agile project management.