Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler has pledged to accelerate development of unmanned aerial vehicles, armed drones, autonomous naval and land platforms, as well as space, cyber and electronic warfare capabilities, amid rising regional tensions linked to the Iran conflict.
Güler said recent conflicts—including the war in Ukraine and tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran—were reshaping regional and global security dynamics. “These conflicts and wars have provided very critical data for security doctrine, while also increasing our responsibilities,” he said.
He made the remarks at the presentation of Yıldırımhan, an intercontinental ballistic missile project unveiled by a Turkish defence company, described as having a range of 6,000km and powered by nitrogen tetroxide fuel and four rocket engines.
According to Güler, Türkiye, once heavily reliant on foreign defence suppliers until the 1980s, had transformed into a country capable of designing, producing and exporting its own military systems. The shift reflects decades of investment in domestic research, manufacturing and technology aimed at strengthening strategic autonomy.
On the sidelines of the event, Güler met Somali Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, Lebanese Armed Forces commander Lt. Gen. Rodolphe Haykal and Iraqi Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Harbiye.
Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır said Türkiye’s incentive system had supported more than 1,100 defence investments worth 460 billion liras over the past 23 years, with plans to expand production through new industrial zones across Anatolia.
Defence industry chief Haluk Görgün said Türkiye exported US$10.5 billion in defence and aerospace products to 185 countries over the past 12 months.
SAHA Istanbul chairman Haluk Bayraktar said the war in Ukraine showed how modern warfare is increasingly shaped by technology and industrial capacity, pointing to the rapid rise in drone use as evidence of a shift toward autonomous systems.
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