The Presidency's Defense Industry Agency (SSB), established on November 7, 1985, marked its 41st founding anniversary by reviewing Turkey's progress in meeting national defense and security requirements. Agency President Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün stated that Turkey has transitioned from a nation that once solely procured defense systems to one that now designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and exports solutions.

The SSB's institutional journey began in 1985 as the Defense Industry Development and Support Administration Directorate. It evolved into the Defense Industry Undersecretariat in 1989 and became the Presidency's Defense Industry Agency in 2018, reflecting fundamental shifts in Turkey's defense strategy. Before 2002, defense requirements were primarily met through foreign procurement and joint production models. Subsequently, indigenous design and original development-based procurement approaches gained increasing prominence.

The sector's economic scale and structure expanded significantly. In 2002, the ecosystem comprised 56 companies executing 62 projects; today it encompasses over 4,000 firms managing approximately 1,500 projects. During the same period, total project volume increased from 5.5 billion dollars to over 100 billion dollars. Sector revenue rose from 1.1 billion dollars to 25 billion dollars, while annual R&D expenditures grew from 49 million dollars to over 3.5 billion dollars. These figures demonstrate the deepening technological infrastructure of Turkish defense industry.

Indigenous capabilities have been developed across a broad spectrum, from unmanned aerial vehicles to national warships, air defense systems to electronic warfare technologies. The domestic content ratio increased from 20 percent in 2002 to over 80 percent today. This transformation became possible through enhanced capabilities at institutions such as ASELSAN, ROKETSAN, TUSAŞ, Baykar, FNSS, and MKE. Qualified employment in the sector has also grown: sector employment, which stood at approximately 81,000 in 2022, now exceeds 135,000, with projections reaching 158,000 by 2028.

Turkish defense industry's export performance represents the most tangible evidence of developed indigenous capabilities. Defense and aerospace exports, which stood at 248 million dollars in 2002, reached 10.054 billion dollars in 2025, representing approximately a 40-fold increase. In October 2026, the sector achieved 1.140 billion dollars in exports, representing 61 percent growth compared to the same period the previous year. Exports reaching 8.050 billion dollars in the first 10 months of the year climbed to 11.357 billion dollars over the trailing 12-month period. Approximately 30 billion dollars in exports recorded over the past four years exceeded 55 percent of total exports.