Turkey's Defense Industry Agenda: SSİK Decisions and Domestic Platform Test Successes

Defense Industry Executive Committee Sets Future Vision Chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex, the Defense Industry Executive Committee (SSİK) evaluated the strategic goals of the Turkish defense industry and the latest status of critical projects.
During the meeting, the commitment to developing domestic and national systems was emphasized, and a comprehensive future vision for the sector was discussed.
IDEF 2027 Dates and International Exercises It was announced that the IDEF 2027 fair, organized under the responsibility of the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, will be held at the Istanbul Expo Center between May 3 and 9, 2027.
On the operational front, the Turkish Armed Forces demonstrated coordination with allies during the "Steadfast Dart 2026" exercise held in Germany.
In the naval phase of the exercise, the Bayraktar TB3 UCAV, deployed on the TCG ANADOLU, successfully demonstrated its autonomous takeoff and firing capabilities under challenging winter conditions.
Strategic Collaborations and Export Initiatives Major defense industry players signed significant agreements throughout the week.
HAVELSAN reached memorandums of understanding with VN Maritime Technologies and Piloda Shipyard for unmanned and hybrid naval platforms.
Meanwhile, the DEARSAN Shipyard launched the Q52 AL GHARIYAH, the second ship in the Guided Missile Fast Attack Craft Project built for the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces.
Additionally, ROKETSAN strengthened its academic collaborations, while a delegation from the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense conducted inspections at MKE facilities.
Technological Breakthroughs and Critical Test Successes ASELSAN announced a $39 million increase in efficiency through artificial intelligence applications.
Baykar’s Bayraktar KIZILELMA successfully completed electronic warfare tests, while the Bayraktar AKINCI UCAV achieved a direct hit in an air-to-air firing test using EREN ammunition.
In the maritime domain, the ULAQ Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) began its duties equipped with a new 12.7 mm marine-type remote-controlled weapon system.
Finally, plans are underway to move the Tayfun Block 4 ballistic missile into the mass production phase.