Türkiye’s military spending in 2025 is set to reach record levels above $46 billion. This amounts to a 17.5% increase from $40 billion spent on the 2024 budget over the past decade, and Türkiye’s achievements served as a success story. Its economy benefits from the innovation ecosystem and startup networks generated by the defense industry
The author was a fellow at the Centre for Applied Turkish Research (CATS) at Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) in Berlin.
Istanbul
Over the past decade, Türkiye has emerged as an international competitor in arms exports. Turkish arms exports (1) reached a new record of $7.1 billion in 2024. What is noticeable in this achievement is the fact that Türkiye’s NATO partners are increasingly modernizing their defensive capabilities with investment in Turkish companies. Build two fleet replenishment vessels for the Portuguese Navy.
Meanwhile, NATO members Albania, Croatia and Romania have introduced Turkish drones to their military inventory.
Not only is Türkiye achieving increased export capabilities and international recognition for military industrial complexes, Turkish companies are also investing in the overseas defense sector. Baykar, a manufacturer known internationally for its production and export of Bayraktar Drones, announced in December 2024 that it had acquired Italian company Piaggio Aerospace. (2)
Türkiye’s defense reform
While Türkiye has made major invasions on local production capacity and has increased exports, other countries are debating ways to overcome bureaucratic barriers and spending obstacles within their country’s defense industry. The demand for the need to reform contract systems in military procurement procedures has been made clear in the US (3) and the EU (4). Key defence industry executives are urging the new US administration to consider lessons learned in other countries, including Türkiye. In Germany, ahead of the Federal election on February 23, there is a lively debate about the amount of future funding needed to modernize the military over the years.
Addressing these challenges is even more appropriate given the revival of war in Europe, multiple regional conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, and the expansion of China’s military industrial complex. Against this challenging background, Türkiye’s achievements over the past decade serve as a success story. Its economy benefits from the innovation ecosystem and startup networks generated by the defense industry.
Record-level budget
In response to improved regional production capacity and widespread changes in regional security architecture, Türkiye’s military spending in 2025 (5) has been set to reach record levels above $46 billion. This represents a 17.5% increase from the 2024 budget’s $40 billion spending. Türkiye’s higher military spending does not automatically mean a higher debt-to-GDP ratio. In fact, the Turkish incident shows opposition. Despite rising defense and security spending over the past two years, government debt accounted for 25.6% of the country’s GDP in the third quarter of 2024.
Türkiye’s example shows that improving defensive capabilities while expanding economic strength does not need to rely primarily on imports. Instead, the systematic development of the armed industry is of paramount importance. A combination of local innovation and targeted financial resources has resulted in the Turkish defense industry systematically expanding its export market. The inclusion of the university and Türkiye startup scene has produced research and innovation results that could be relocated to the military industrial complex.
Policy challenges are still enduring. The instability in neighbouring Syria, Iraq and Iran has further influenced Türkiye’s approach to national security. An important parameter is modernizing air defense capabilities. Türkiye is waiting for official green light from all four members of the European Consortium, which manufactures Eurofighter typhoon jets. The delay in approval of the sale in Berlin has caused frustration within the Ankara defence community. Over the past 20 years, different German governments had a history of imposing restrictions and sanctions on defence transactions with Türkiye.
Such obstacles are a key factor in the indigenous manufacturing capabilities to further advance, as shown by Kaan, the first locally built fighter jet in Türkiye. However, these achievements should not obscure the fact that Ankara has a significant gap in the manufacture of the defence industry. Türkiye lacks the Indigenous microchip sector, which is essential for local production of sophisticated military hardware and software.
(1) https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/military-balance/2025/01/turkiyes-defence-industry-charts-a-course-for-european-growth/
(2) https://baykartech.com/en/press/baykar-set-to-become-the-new-awner-of-italian-aviation-giant-piaggio-aerospace/
(3) https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/predator-drone-maker-asks-musks-cut-pentagon-red-tape-letter-shows-2025-01-28/
(4) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_5827
(5) https://breakingdefense.com/2024/10/turkish-defense song-to-reach-record-high-amid-neighboring-conflicts/
*The opinions expressed in this article are the authors themselves and do not necessarily reflect Anadoru’s editorial policy.
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