Modern warfare has dramatically changed as we have seen from the Russia-Ukraine war, conflicts involving Gaza, India and Pakistan, and the recent US-Israeli strikes on Iran. At the centre of this shift is a surging global reliance on drone and missile technology as well as advanced air defence systems. Turkiye, one of the largest military powers in the Middle East, is increasingly positioning itself as a major supplier in the global defence sector.
Central to this effort is Roketsan, a company founded in 1988 to supply the Turkish Armed Forces, which has since evolved into the country’s primary manufacturer of missile and rocket systems. Currently exporting to approximately 50 countries, the firm is one of the fastest-growing defence companies globally. So how did Roketsan secure a large share of the global arms trade?
Turkiye’s defence expansion was largely accelerated by restrictions placed upon it. Western embargoes aimed at halting its military advancement meant Ankara could not acquire the necessary technical systems or components. In 2020, the United States imposed Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) restrictions on Turkiye – a key member of the transatlantic military alliance NATO.
These sanctions targeted Turkiye’s military procurement agency, its chief Ismail Demir, and three other senior officials. Washington also ejected Ankara from the F-35 stealth jet programme in July 2019. The measures came after Ankara purchased Russia’s S-400 missile defence system, which was seen as a potential threat to NATO security.
The European Union also prepared limited sanctions and discussed restricting arms exports following energy exploration disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean. To circumvent this, the country built an integrated, domestic defence ecosystem. Today, Turkiye relies on a vast supply chain of nearly 4,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) scattered across the country.
As a result, the Turkish defence industry now operates with a local production rate exceeding 90 percent. This shift has yielded significant financial returns for Ankara. In 2025, Turkiye’s defence industry reported $10bn in exports.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
