Turkey’s Defense Industry Sets Ambitious 2026 Targets as Exports Cross $10 Billion
Turkey’s defense industry kicked off 2026 with a comprehensive press briefing coordinated by the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), laying out a delivery-heavy, export-driven strategy across aviation, naval, missile, and electronic warfare domains — as the sector records its first-ever annual defense and aerospace exports surpassing $10 billion.
The briefing, held on February 1, featured senior executives from the country’s largest state-linked and private defense primes — including Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS), Roketsan, ASFAT, TEI, STM, ASELSAN, and MKE — each presenting program milestones achieved in 2025 and concrete deliverables for the year ahead. The collective message was unmistakable: 2026 is a year of execution, not just development.
KAAN Fifth-Gen Fighter Enters Flight Test Phase
The centerpiece of the briefing was the KAAN national combat aircraft, Turkey’s stealth, twin-engine, fifth-generation fighter developed by TUSAS to replace the Turkish Air Force’s aging F-16 fleet. TUSAS General Manager Dr. Mehmet Demiroğlu confirmed that the program has transitioned from ground testing to active flight testing, with the first non-demonstrator prototype — designated P1 — targeted for its maiden flight by the end of April 2026.
A second prototype, P2, is expected to follow shortly thereafter, with TAI aiming for a first flight in the May–June 2026 window. Together with a dedicated ground-test vehicle, the program now has three prototypes in various stages of completion at TUSAS’s Ankara facilities.
“Our goal is still the end of April. KAAN will begin test flights.”— Dr. Mehmet Demiroğlu, General Manager, TUSAS
The KAAN program has attracted significant international interest. Indonesia has signed up for 48 aircraft, marking the first confirmed export order for the platform. TUSAS officials have indicated that negotiations with additional countries — including potential interest reported from Saudi Arabia and Spain — are ongoing, though no additional firm orders have been publicly announced.
Powering the KAAN prototypes are twin General Electric F110-GE-129E turbofan engines, with an initial batch already delivered to TAI as of late 2025. However, Turkey is pursuing full engine autonomy: the domestic TF35000 engine program, led by TEI, reached its critical design review (CDR) milestone in 2025. Early ground testing of the indigenous engine is planned for 2026, with integration on a KAAN airframe targeted for 2032.
TUSAS: Trainer Jets, Helicopters, and Airbus Supply Chain
Beyond KAAN, TUSAS reported a broad portfolio of deliverable programs for 2026. The company plans to hand over 22 HÜRKUŞ light attack and training aircraft to the Turkish Armed Forces this year. The advanced jet trainer HÜRJET — which reached Mach 1.2 during flight testing in 2025 — is expected to see its first Block 0 production aircraft roll out between May and June, with three to four units targeted by year-end.
HÜRJET secured a high-profile export contract with Spain’s Royal Air Force, a deal reportedly valued at over €2.6 billion for 30 aircraft with deliveries beginning in 2028. This marks Turkey’s formal entry into the jet trainer export market and a landmark sale to a NATO ally.
The GÖKBEY utility helicopter program is also accelerating. TUSAS confirmed that a new contract for 57 additional helicopters has been signed with SSB, bringing the total order to 83 units. The fifth production helicopter was delivered recently, and the company plans a delivery cadence of one per month in 2026, rising to two per month in 2027. GÖKBEY completed cold-weather testing in Sweden in February 2025, and civilian certification is expected in early 2026.
On the structural aerostructures side, TUSAS delivered the 500th fuselage section (Section 18–19) to Airbus and Boeing programs in December 2025, underscoring the company’s role as a Tier-1 supplier in global commercial aviation manufacturing.
TEI Sets Engine Records and Advances TS1400
Turkish Aero Engines (TEI), the national engine manufacturer, reported near $700 million in revenues for 2025, with roughly $500 million attributable to exports — including a maintenance contract win with the Chilean Air Force that solidified its global credentials.
TEI’s PD170 turbofan, which powers the ANKA and AKSUNGUR UAV platforms, broke through the 42,000-foot altitude ceiling during testing — a record in its class. The company also completed delivery of 100 units of the Kara Şahin piston engine.
Looking ahead, TEI announced that the TS1400 turbofan — intended for the HÜRJET trainer — has largely completed certification and will begin deliveries to TUSAS in 2026. This engine will enable HÜRJET to transition from interim foreign powerplants to a fully indigenous propulsion solution.
ASELSAN and the Steel Dome Air Defense Network
ASELSAN, Turkey’s largest defense electronics firm and the 43rd largest defense company globally according to the Defense News Top 100, reported a combined direct-and-indirect export contribution of $958 million in 2025. The company signed new contracts worth $2.069 billion with 58 countries, raising its total export customer base to 95 nations.
A standout achievement was the $410 million electronic warfare system sale to Poland — the first such sale to a NATO member state and a clear indicator of Turkey’s expanding credibility within the alliance’s defense ecosystem.
On the domestic front, ASELSAN confirmed that over 100 components of the multi-layered Steel Dome air defense system have been delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces. Steel Dome integrates the SIPER long-range, HISAR mid-range, and SENGOKU short-range air defense platforms into a single, networked architecture. A $6.5 billion mass-production contract covering Steel Dome subsystems and related strategic defense systems was signed between SSB and ASELSAN/Roketsan in late 2025.
Roketsan Enters Serial Production on Key Missile Systems
Roketsan, ranked 71st globally among defense manufacturers, contributed over $750 million to Turkey’s sector-wide export figure in 2025 — helping push the national total past $10 billion. The company closed the year with revenues up more than 55 percent and doubled its backlog of orders.
Critically, Roketsan formally entered serial production on two systems in 2025: the AKATA anti-ship missile and the TAYFUN strategic cruise missile. Both had previously been in development. Roketsan also conducted 850 test events during the year to validate operational maturity across its product lines. The company’s products are now active in more than 40 countries, with local co-production arrangements established in several markets.
ASFAT Expands Naval and Armored Vehicle Exports
ASFAT, the state-owned defense manufacturer, reported its most significant year in terms of contract value — reaching roughly twice the combined total of the previous seven years. On the naval side, the company delivered Pakistan’s PNS Khaibar corvette under the MILGEM program in Istanbul and began sea trials on a corvette destined for Romania — opening the door to the European naval export market.
New contracts were signed with SSB for the TF-2000 frigate program’s second phase, the MİLDEN submarine program’s first phase, and open-sea patrol vessels. The 8×8 Panther integrated howitzer system entered the Turkish Army inventory, with one unit already delivered and three more expected in February. The remaining 36 units of the ARPAN variant are scheduled for delivery in three batches before year-end.
STM’s NETA Autonomous Submarine Nears Testing Completion
STM, a leading developer of unmanned naval systems, confirmed that the NETA autonomous underwater vehicle has completed the majority of its test program and is approaching final validation. The company also announced that construction of Turkey’s first national attack craft has begun, while submarine modernization work and İSTİF-class frigate construction continue on an intensive schedule.
STM’s tactical drone portfolio now spans more than 15 export markets. The company is conducting strategic business development across 50-plus countries in 2026, aiming to convert pipeline opportunities into firm contracts.
MKE Targets Eightfold Increase in Ammunition Capacity
The Machinery and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE), Turkey’s state ammunition manufacturer, disclosed that it has invested nearly $1 billion over the past two years to raise production capacity to 65,000 rounds annually. The company’s stated ultimate target is 1 million rounds per year — an eightfold increase — supported by new factory construction in Samsun and Kırşehir.
MKE also reported the first-ever export of heavy weapons to Bangladesh and the introduction of what it described as the world’s first electric-powered armored combat vehicle into the Turkish Armed Forces inventory. The company currently exports to more than 10 countries and established a new R&D center focused on energetic materials to localize chemical production.
Strategic Outlook
The February 1 briefing collectively underscored a deliberate shift in Turkey’s defense industrial posture — from a decade dominated by R&D milestones and prototype demonstrations to a phase defined by serial deliveries, export volume, and industrial scaling. Five Turkish companies now appear in SIPRI’s global top 100, and the country’s domestic localization rate exceeds 80 percent, down from roughly 20 percent two decades ago.
Roketsan’s CEO Murat İkinci projected that sector-wide defense and aerospace exports would surpass $10 billion in 2026, maintaining a growth rate comparable to 2025’s roughly 48-percent year-on-year increase. ASELSAN has set a stated goal of entering the global top 20 defense firms and the European top 10 within the medium term.
For international observers — particularly in Washington, Brussels, and allied capitals — the trajectory carries strategic significance. Turkey’s expanding role as a credible arms exporter to NATO allies (Poland, Spain) and Indo-Pacific markets (Indonesia) positions Ankara as an increasingly consequential player in the global defense trade landscape, with direct implications for alliance dynamics and regional security architectures.
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