Filenews 19 November 2021
Not one, not two, but 632 pages contain the complete list of weapons and all kinds of military materials produced by the Turkish defence industry.
One could say that the multi-page list of "Made in Turkey" weapons also has elements of exaggeration since some of them are under construction, but the reality is that especially in the Erdogan era, Turkey's defence industry has made leaps and bounds and produces almost everything. From simple clothing materials and bullets for the Turkish army to armoured vehicles, corvettes, frigates, UAV's. Indeed, if someone attempts to flip through the list of Turkey's defence industry, he will record a wide range of weapon systems that cannot be compared to the performance of the Greek defence industry.
Athens is obviously closely following Turkey's significant progress and the renewal of its arsenal through its own industry. Some of them are propagandized by Turkish officials before they even enter the production line, such as the Altay brine. Its delivery due to the involvement of German companies in production has been delayed. Turkish haste and propaganda was exacerbated by the conflict with the US over F-35 fighter jets and general American arms barriers to Turkey, due to the procurement of Russian S-400s. A new strong message, in fact, was sent yesterday by the State Department to Ankara about the S-400s, stressing again that the US continues to urge Turkey not to keep the S-400 system and to refrain from purchasing any additional Russian military equipment.
There are, of course, other weapons such as the UAVs in which Turkey not only has the know-how, but also exports them. Against this background, the staffers note that the defence industry in some areas may be going slower and in others faster. "But what is certain is that it produces." That's why they say we have to be concerned about what we do.
With delays or without, however, Turkey is currently producing important weapons and equipment for its army or for other armies. Among those that stand out are, of course, the UAV's – the most recent achievement being attacking Akinci, which has the capabilities to stay in the air for 24 hours, at 40,000 feet and the ability to carry bombs weighing 1350 kg – the T-129 attack helicopter, the corvettes and frigates of the national MILGEM program, the 4X4 Cobra II armoured vehicle, the Anadolu helicopter carrier with Spanish assistance.
However, Athens evaluates another parameter of the rapid growth recorded in the Turkish defence industry. It is obvious, especially in recent years, that the Erdogan government is trying to turn Turkey's defence industry into an important arm of its foreign policy. Ankara is seeking to emerge as a major regional power in the region, and it is trying to confirm this with its own production arms sales to certain countries. It is also evident that it is aiming to increase its influence in regions and countries through such agreements. It is characteristic that in the last 5 years Turkey has sold UAV's Bayraktar (armed) and ANKA (multi-role) in Ukraine, Qatar, Tunisia, Libya, Azerbaijan and recently in Poland. It has equipped Pakistan with ships, with armoured vehicles Tunisia but also with patrol boats, countries of Africa such as Nigeria.
Sanchez in Ankara
At the same time, Turkey is attempting to raise armaments after the continuous defence agreements between Athens and Paris and Washington. And it will do so with one of its traditional allies, Spain. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is visiting Ankara with six ministers, and the sale of Spanish arms to Turkey may also be on the agenda of the discussions.
Source: in.gr
