Türkiye’s defence industry has evolved through a series of pivotal transformations since the foundation of the Republic. While initially shaped by limited capacity and post-war alignment with Western powers, the sector gradually moved from dependency on foreign military assistance to building a sustainable, increasingly autonomous industrial base. The 1952 accession to NATO offered integration with Western defence structures but deepened external dependency. However, critical turning points such as the 1964 Johnson Letter and the 1974 U.S. arms embargo following the Cyprus Peace Operation catalysed the emergence of a national defence industrial agenda.

Today, the Turkish defence industry has evolved from an import-dependent structure into a globally competitive sector capable of producing complex systems—from UAVs to naval platforms—and exporting them to NATO and non-NATO markets alike. This transformation was not merely technical but institutional, involving long-term strategies, public-private coordination, and deliberate policy shifts toward indigenization. With over $5 billion in annual exports and a growing international client base, Türkiye now plays a more assertive role in both NATO’s strategic posture and global defence-industrial cooperation.