BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr.14
Trend:
Restrictions [from a number of Western countries] towards Turkey's defense industry have enabled Ankara to develop a more rational program to develop a military-industrial complex, to determine a priority list of products that need to be produced in the country, Ismayil Demir, Head of the Defense Industry Department under the Turkish Presidential Administration, wrote on Twitter, Trend reports.
“In the light of the embargo, we better realized what we needed, what needed to be produced at domestic enterprises, and accelerated this process,” Demir wrote.
The head of the department drew attention to the efforts of the Turkish concern ASELSAN, which has launched the production of CATS cameras for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
"Turkey's dependence on exports and in this direction has disappeared. This proves the validity of the course of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to strengthen the military-industrial potential of the country. The sanctions allowed us to adjust the course for the development of the defense industry. Therefore, we are only grateful to the countries that introduce such restrictions. No one can change course towards the formation of an entirely independent defense industry in Turkey," Demir said.