International defence industry exhibition kicks off in Istanbul

The highly anticipated IDEF'23 International Defense Industry Fair, originally scheduled for May but delayed due to the Turkish elections, is now set to take place from July 25 to 28.

Ranked as the fourth largest defence industry fair in the world, the exhibition welcomes the largest number of exhibitors from various countries.

Hosted by the Defense Ministry and organised by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, the exhibition will display a wide array of domestic and foreign defence industry technologies at the TUYAP Fair and Congress Center.

Last fair, IDEF’21, hosted around 1, 200 firms from Türkiye and foreign countries. There were 1,238 exhibitors from 53 countries and 68,795 visitors from 94 countries.

Latest developments, and product launches in military and technology products by Turkish contractors, and the breakthroughs Turkish defence industry made will be at the spotlight of the fair.

One of the remarkable debuts will be made by Aselsan, Türkiye’ leading defence company, with its newly produced air defence missile system, GOKSUR and mobile laser weapon system, GOKBERK.

Unveiling of new Turkish products

Being at the spotlight of the fair, Aselsan-made GOKSUR is designed to counter the threats of armed and unmanned aerial vehicles, warplanes and helicopters, anti-ship missiles and cruise missiles.

Another new product, named GOKBERK, is a mobile laser weapon system. Due to its technology, it is able to hit the targets without a line of sight.

Developed in line with the needs of Turkish Air Forces Command, ERALP, Türkiye's first long-range radar, is also waiting to be exhibited at the fair. It has the capability to detect and track air targets from very long distances by integrating radar algorithms into its system.

In the last fair, the state-run firm made the debut of laser target device ENGEREK-2 and the ASELFLIR-500 electro-optical system in addition to other naval, aerial and air defense systems.

Other industrial firms of Türkiye have also been present at the fair to introduce their products, ranging from naval systems to aerospace technologies.

Display of international products

In addition to Turkish firms, there will be various countries waiting to present their technologies.

UAE is one of them, and Emirates Defense Companies Council (EDCC) will be organising the UAE pavilion in IDEF’23.

The participation of the UAE is a part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the cooperation with Türkiye in defence.

Anas Naser Al Otaiba, General Manager at EDCC told: "The participation of the EDCC in IDEF 2023 reflects the depth and strength of the UAE-Turkish bilateral relations, under the continuous support of the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Türkiye.”

The efforts to cooperate in developmental areas are part of the UAE-Turkish Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, signed in March 2023.

Another important presence is expected from China, the world’s leading exporter of armed drones, with seventy-four firms that will participate in the four-day fair.

Türkiye’s role as a global player in defence industry

With its wide range of participants and exhibitors interested in the latest developments in Turkish defence industry, the fair shows Türkiye’s role and aims to be an important player in the global defence industry.

Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed an agreement for the transfer of Bayraktar AKINCI unmanned combat aerial vehicles to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf tour of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The deal marked as the largest drone deal in Turkish history, includes technology transfer and joint production between the two countries.

Thanks to the AKINCI’s successes in the Russia-Ukraine War and the second Nagorno-Karabakh War, the international interest grows day by day. So far BAYKAR signed an export contract for TB2 with 30 countries.

The Turkish defence and aeronautics sector’s export revenues increased to $4.3 billion in 2022, from $3.2 billion in 2021, according to the data revealed by the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM).

Defence and aerospace industries ranked 2nd in export revenues of all sectors in the same year.

The fair will be the ground to present all the developments not only in the Turkish defence industry but also through the other participants from various countries which can lead to joint cooperation opportunities and technology transfers.