Roketsan chief says Türkiye can rapidly meet Europe's defense needs

Roketsan Chief Executive Murat Ikinci said on the sidelines of the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in Ankara that Türkiye's existing defense supply chain could rapidly meet Europe's needs through cooperation with major companies, emphasizing that the gathering presented a major opportunity to expand defense industrial partnerships.

NATO summit opens door to joint production

Speaking to Anadolu at the Defense Industry Forum, Ikinci said hosting such a major summit in the capital presented a major opportunity for the country, with defense industry partners from NATO member states coming to Ankara to discuss cooperation. "We have held many meetings here. One of the most important issues being discussed is using Türkiye's existing defense industry architecture and defense industry capacity for joint production with European countries," he said, noting that officials are discussing partnerships in defense systems, ammunition systems, smart munitions and drone technologies. He added that cooperation with Europe and NATO members would be among the leading issues for Türkiye's defense industry in the coming period.

Tayfun family 'crowned' with Block 4

Ikinci said one of the most important elements of NATO deterrence is "deep strike" capability, adding that the Tayfun missile is one of the special members of this family. "Tayfun represents a family whose production is ongoing and whose capabilities continue to be enhanced. The latest test we carried out in the Black Sea actually demonstrated a new feature of Tayfun: the ability to find a moving target, a target at sea, with its seeker head," he said. "Production of Tayfun Blocks 1, 2 and 3 is continuing. After that, this family will be crowned with Block 4, hopefully," he added, noting that the hypersonic missile's seeker and ability to engage moving targets have a very serious deterrent effect in maritime systems.

Supply chain strength targets $20 billion exports

Ikinci said Türkiye's biggest strength is currently its supply chain, noting that nearly 2,000 of more than 3,500 companies produce for the Türkiye defense industry — an ecosystem he said does not exist anywhere else in Europe. "Through cooperation with major companies, we believe Europe's needs can be supplied very quickly by using Türkiye's existing supply chain," he said, adding that Türkiye closed last year with $10 billion in defense exports and that opening such cooperation models could quickly raise this to $15 billion-$20 billion. He noted that many agreements have already been signed at the summit and the signing process is continuing intensively, with Roketsan positioned to make a major contribution to NATO's urgent needs.