Turkey eyes defense exports worth $1 billion by 2011
Posted by meb at September 15th, 2009
Turkey’s domestic defense industry is expected to export weapons, equipment and services worth $1 billion in 2011, up more than $400 million from last year’s figure, the country’s procurement agency said in this year’s report on its strategic objectives.
The Turkish defense industry’s exports totaled $576 million last year. The balance comes from commercial sales by private and public defense companies.
The Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, or SSM, said in its “Strategic Document for Defense Industry, 2009-2016″ that it is implementing a plan to incentivize exports and aims to reach its $1 billion goal in 2011.
Sales of Turkish defense equipment and services are bolstered by offset agreements. Offsets are financial compensations provided by arms-exporting countries to purchasing nations. For example, if Country A exports weapons worth $100 million to Country B with an offset rate of 50 percent, then Country B’s defense industry exports back defense equipment worth $50 million to Country A.
Turkey has offset agreements with many foreign companies as part of ongoing procurement deals.
Tusaş Aerospace Industries, or TAI, and military-electronics company Aselsan lead Turkish firms in offset foreign sales, exporting goods worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually in recent years.
Armored-vehicle exports rise
The commercial exports of several other Turkish defense firms are rapidly increasing, particularly those operating in the field of armored vehicles.
Turkey’s privately owned armored-vehicle manufacturers exported vehicles worth $120 million in 2007. This figure is expected to rise to $300 million by the end of 2010, the SSM said in its strategy document.
Those private manufacturers include Otokar, FNSS, BMC, MAN Turkey, Mercedes Benz Turkey and Nurol Makina.
Additionally, the publicly owned military factories at Kayseri and Arifiye both produce and modernize vehicles.
Turkish-made armored vehicles find buyers mostly in the Middle East and Asia.
source: Hurriyet daily news
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