Ankara recently hosted an eager crowd at the first Turkish Defense Industry Summit, but all the accompanying fanfare wasn’t enough to hide the most significant flaw in Turkey's own defense program — foreign dependence. All of Turkey’s state-controlled defense industries were represented at the Dec. 12 summit, held at the Presidential Complex and organized by the Defense Industries Undersecretariat (SSM), which is tasked with developing the country's industry and modernization of the Turkish Armed Forces.
The SSM has been under the direct authority of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan since 2017. The Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV), the state-controlled giant that owns majority shares in Turkey’s top defense companies, was also moved from the Defense Ministry to Erdogan's desk in 2017.
TSKGV companies and their products include Aselsan (electronics), Tusas Engine Industries (engine design and development), Havelsan (software), TAI (Anka drones, Atak helicopters and Hurkus planes), Roketsan (missiles), Aspilsan (aircraft batteries) and Isbir (alternators and generators).
The combined revenue for these companies in 2017 was around $3.5 billion. According to 2017 research, TSKGV is an empire responsible for 43% of Turkey's military sales and 41% of its exports. It employs 40% of its personnel and consumes 60% of its research and development funds.
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