Haluk Görgün, President of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), announced that Türkiye’s defense industry closed 2025 with a striking export performance during the 21st SME Summit held at OSTİM Technical University under the theme “Stronger Together, Greater Together.” Görgün stated that the sector achieved a 48 percent increase in exports and nearly 80 percent growth in contract volume compared with the previous year, emphasizing that this performance placed the defense industry far ahead of other sectors. He underlined that this success was not only driven by prime contractors, but also by SMEs, which have become one of the most important pillars of the national defense ecosystem.

According to Görgün, Türkiye’s defense industry has now evolved into a major ecosystem with more than 4,000 companies, over 1,400 active projects, and direct employment exceeding 100,000 people. He noted that the sector’s turnover has surpassed 20 billion dollars, while the localization rate has risen above 80 percent. Stressing the strategic importance of integration between large defense contractors and SMEs, Görgün said they aim to make SMEs more visible, effective, and sustainable at every stage, from design and serial production to R&D, certification, quality management, and exports. He added that this structure strengthens supply chain resilience and deepens technological capability across the sector.

Görgün also highlighted that increasing SME participation remains a top priority in the SSB’s industrialization policies. He explained that contractors are required to allocate at least 21 percent of their contract value to qualified, high value-added work for subcontractors and SMEs. This policy, he said, accelerates the development of critical components through domestic capabilities and supports the growth of a globally competitive supplier base. He further noted that the Defense Industry Capability Inventory Portal currently includes nearly 9,000 domestic products and data on more than 4,000 companies, allowing the sector’s capabilities to be managed more efficiently through digital infrastructure. In addition, he stated that support mechanisms enabled 25 companies in 2024 and 37 companies in 2025 to benefit from a total support volume of 50 million dollars.

Speaking at the summit, HAVELSAN General Manager Mehmet Akif Nacar also emphasized the decisive role of SMEs in Türkiye’s defense success story. Nacar stated that SMEs play critical roles in developing key subsystems, advanced manufacturing technologies, software, electronics, R&D, and innovation processes across the country’s defense projects. He stressed that a strong defense industry can only be sustained through a strong SME ecosystem, adding that maintaining production even under wartime conditions depends directly on the agility of the industrial base and the strength of the ecosystem. The summit ultimately highlighted that Türkiye’s defense industry has moved beyond being merely a platform producer and has become a technology-generating, export-oriented strategic power whose institutional model is increasingly attracting international attention.