Türkiye, Saudi Arabia ready to deepen defense ties, expand joint production

Türkiye-Saudi Arabia defense cooperation

Türkiye's top defense official, Haluk Gorgun, said Thursday that the country is ready to expand defense industry cooperation with Saudi Arabia, supported by over 1,400 projects and a roughly $120 billion portfolio.

Gorgun, who heads the Secretariat of Defense Industries (SSB), made the remarks at the Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Defense Industry Days in Istanbul. The event was organized by Türkiye's Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), defense industry cluster SAHA Istanbul and Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), with Saudi Minister of State and Acting Governor of the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) Bandar Al-Khorayef, Türkiye's Deputy Industry and Technology Minister Cetin Ali Donmez and Istanbul Governor Davut Gul in attendance.

“With our nearly 4,500 defense SMEs, over 1,400 projects, a roughly $120 billion portfolio, and our president's mandate, we are ready to take every step we can develop together,” Gorgun said. He noted that Türkiye had built a strong defense ecosystem over the past 20 years under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and sought to co-develop its model with friendly nations.

Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 targets

Turkish officials have held 75 meetings with Saudi counterparts over the past 3.5 years, Gorgun said, including representatives of GAMI, SAMI and the General Authority for Defense Development (GADD). Turkish companies are conducting joint work with Saudi partners to support Riyadh's Vision 2030 goal of localizing at least 50% of defense production.

Gorgun added that leading Turkish firms and Saudi officials had met to prioritize and establish defense centers of excellence under Vision 2030. Al-Khorayef said the two countries cooperate not only in industry but also on the basis of brotherhood, citing joint efforts in the G20 and the Makkah Agreement.

Saudi Arabia's defense localization rate has risen from 4% to 27%, Al-Khorayef said, with a target of 50% under Vision 2030 through technology transfer and long-term partnerships. He noted that Riyadh offers incentives to attract investors and build a globally competitive defense industry powered by international research and development experience.

Türkiye's industrial and research capacity

Donmez said Türkiye's annual exports had approached $300 billion, with manufacturing accounting for roughly $260 billion of the total. Since the pandemic, the country's high-technology exports have grown by 87.5%, while high- and medium-high-technology products have reached 44.2% of overall exports.

Türkiye's total R&D expenditure reached $24.8 billion, surpassing 1.5% of national income, Donmez said, with support from an ecosystem of 318,000 R&D personnel. He highlighted that defense and aerospace exports had climbed from $248 million in 2002 to over $10 billion today, employing more than 100,000 skilled personnel across over 4,000 entities.

The ministry issued over 1,200 investment incentive certificates for the sector, while 80 defense R&D centers received 71 billion Turkish liras in state support last year, Donmez added. The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (Tubitak) provided 65 billion liras to more than 2,200 defense projects and over 4,000 researchers, he noted.

Industry clusters and joint projects

Gul emphasized that Istanbul serves as a major global trade hub where business representatives from around the world meet weekly. He said SAHA Istanbul had elevated defense industry clustering and transferred Türkiye's accumulated expertise to domestic organizations and international stakeholders.

SAHA Istanbul Vice Chairman and Roketsan CEO Murat Ikinci said bilateral defense cooperation would significantly contribute to the two countries' industrialization and technological deepening goals. He noted that the Makkah Agreement had demonstrated joint will and paved the way for concrete projects, supported by strong political motivation for co-production and technology transfer.

Ikinci said cooperation should include SMEs, subcontractors and tech startups, noting that SAHA Istanbul represents Europe's largest technology cluster with over 1,300 member firms. He added that joint R&D in autonomous systems, integrated air and missile defense, propulsion technologies and space systems would offer both nations rapid results.