Turkey’s defense and aviation exports reached a record $10 billion in 2025, marking a 48 percent increase from $7.1 billion in 2024, according to the head of the Presidency of Defense Industries.
Exports in December alone surpassed $2.5 billion, underscoring the strong year-end momentum. Of the total, $9.8 billion came from defense goods and $184 million from services, accounting for approximately 3.7 percent of Turkey’s overall exports.
Presidency chief Haluk Görgün cited several flagship contracts driving growth, including naval vessel sales to Portugal, Hürjet advanced jet trainers for Spain, the KAAN next-generation fighter program for Indonesia, and offshore patrol vessels destined for Romania.
Europe, NATO members, and the United States absorbed the largest share of exports, totaling about $5.6 billion, or 56 percent of the overall figure. Additional demand came from the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Africa.
Alongside export expansion, Ankara continues to invest heavily in indigenous defense technologies to reduce dependence on foreign systems. Earlier this month, state-owned Makine ve Kimya Endüstrisi (MKE) unveiled the 130mm BALKIN missile, designed to counter radar-guided threats by deploying a dense, radar-reflective particle cloud to confuse radio-frequency homing missiles and protect naval assets.
Turkey is also strengthening its naval and air defense capabilities. Construction has begun on the country’s first domestically developed submarine at Gölcük Shipyard Command, while progress continues on the Steel Dome multilayered air defense system. First announced in 2024, Steel Dome—often compared to Israel’s Iron Dome—leverages artificial intelligence to counter aerial and missile threats across multiple ranges and altitudes, supported by production contracts worth approximately $6.5 billion.
