In an interview with AA on the fiftieth anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation, Defense Industry President Haluk Görgün acknowledged that the U.S. embargoes following the operation ignited a interval of strategic search, which made home protection manufacturing a precedence.
Görgün identified that the operation demonstrated the important significance of the protection trade for Türkiye’s safety and pursuits, stating:
“These embargoes, which brought various difficulties, revealed that the only way for our country to implement an independent security policy was to develop a national defense industry. Significant investments were made in the defense industry with the establishment of Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TUSAŞ) in 1973, ASELSAN in 1975, and HAVELSAN in 1982.”
Görgün defined that within the early Nineteen Eighties, the first purpose was to determine a nationwide protection trade based mostly on modern expertise to satisfy the wants of the armed forces via home assets and guarantee modernization.
“The Era of Ready Purchases Was Replaced by Joint Production”
Görgün additional famous: “The Cyprus Peace Operation was a turning point in confirming the need for a national defense industry and taking some critical steps. The period of ready purchases in the defense industry, which continued until the 1970s, ended in the 1990s, transitioning to joint production. Looking back from where our defense industry stands today, we can say that one of the significant milestones in developing comprehensive defense industry policies was the establishment of the Defense Industry Development and Support Administration (SAGEB) in 1985.”
Görgün recalled that following the operation, in 1987, many protection trade firms, both public or public-affiliated, emerged with the institution of the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, sowing the seeds of at the moment’s quickly creating home protection applied sciences.
Görgün emphasised that till 1990, the wants of the protection trade have been largely met via prepared purchases from overseas. However, following the assumed obligations and decided insurance policies, from 1990 to 2000, the procurement of protection trade wants shifted from prepared purchases to joint manufacturing.
“A Defense Industry Based on National Resources Was Established”
In the 2000s, venture fashions targeted on home improvement, prioritizing a contemporary protection trade based mostly on nationwide assets. Görgün highlighted:
“Products designed domestically have started to enter our country’s defense and security systems inventory. During this process, our defense industry has transformed into a design-oriented production structure, and meeting the defense and security needs of our country through domestic development and production models has been adopted as a national policy.”
This coverage has yielded optimistic leads to each the modernization of the Turkish Armed Forces and legislation enforcement and the event of the protection trade and its potential to satisfy wants. Görgün acknowledged:
“In the transition process from ready purchases to basic and advanced technologies, our country’s defense industry capabilities were assessed and enhanced, and companies in the sector were enabled to participate in defense industry projects within their competencies.”
Görgün recalled that choices made by the Defense Industry Executive Committee (SSİK) in 2004 mandated the event and manufacturing of wanted merchandise domestically with the best doable native content material, ensuing within the fruition of tasks initiated throughout that interval.
Görgün identified that the political will demonstrated by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan considerably contributed to the efficient administration and substantial outcomes within the sector:
“Many important results have been produced in advancing the Turkish defense industry with a local and national character. Today, our defense industry, with its national and independent technologies, significantly contributes to transforming our country into a safer and more stable region, with its economic contributions directly reflecting on our country’s prosperity.”
Source: www.anews.com.tr