Türkiye has a well-developed, high-tech defense industry and already participates in NATO procurement processes, but the country can make a much greater contribution thanks to its significant potential, Haluk Gorgun, Head of the Turkish Presidency’s Defense Industry Agency, told Report's European Bureau.
“We already have active projects within NATO. But we believe we can contribute even more. Over the past two years, the number of projects we are involved in has grown, and we are working to expand this participation,” Gorgun said.
Answering questions from Azerbaijani journalists, he noted that the NATO Secretary General has repeatedly emphasized Türkiye’s importance for the alliance.
“After his appointment, Rutte visited Türkiye. We provided him with detailed information about our companies, expertise, capabilities, level of development, and the potential contribution we can offer,” he said.
Later, representatives of the Turkish defense industry visited NATO headquarters in Brussels.
“For the past year and a half, Türkiye has been actively working to increase its contribution to NATO, particularly in the defense industry sector. As the Head of the Defense Industry Agency, I, along with our entire team, volunteer to host NATO-organized events whenever possible,” Gorgun added.
One of these events took place in Türkiye last month. Moreover, Türkiye is hosting two of the four stages of NATO’s Innovation Continuum program, he noted.
“Türkiye has representatives across all NATO divisions through the Defense Industry Agency, and some of our colleagues even lead specific subgroups and infrastructure projects,” Gorgun said.
According to him, NATO's procurement agency recently announced a tender related to air defense systems. A working group was established to develop NATO's air defense security architecture, with five companies invited to participate, including Turkish defense giant ASELSAN.
Regarding the defense spending target of 5% of GDP, Gorgun stressed that considering Türkiye's geographic location, the country continues to invest heavily in both defense acquisitions and future technologies.
“Currently, Türkiye is one of the countries closest to achieving these targets. If we sum up all defense-related expenditures — from the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, police, gendarmerie, and Defense Industry Agency procurements — they already exceed 3.5% of GDP. Therefore, I believe Türkiye is very close to achieving these goals,” Gorgun concluded.