Türkiye strives to become fully independent in defence industry: Erdogan

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Türkiye will continue its efforts to become fully independent in the defence industry.

“We will not stop or turn back from our path until we achieve the goal of a fully independent Türkiye in the defence industry,” Erdogan said on Friday during an election rally in Türkiye’s Cankiri province. 


Erdogan also said that KAAN, Türkiye’s homegrown fighter aircraft, will be delivered in 2028, adding that KAAN will protect “our skies” from this date onwards. 


He further said that Türkiye has begun preparations to build “an even larger aircraft carrier following the TCG Anadolu” which entered service in navy in April last year.

'No safe haven for terror groups'

"Despite all kinds of embargoes, our fifth-generation fighter aircraft KAAN successfully completed its first flight," he said, adding that the KAAN instilled confidence in "our allies and fear in our enemies."

"From Asia to Europe and America, those who know what it means to have this technology are following KAAN very closely," Erdogan stated.

Underlining that Turkish-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have been in use in almost 50 different countries, Erdogan said UAVs are crucial to Türkiye's fight against terrorism.

He said there would be no safe haven for terrorist groups, underlining that Turkish security forces are able to detect terrorists beyond the country's borders, roughly 300-350 kilometres away, and "neutralise" them "when they least expect it."

We want a heavy price, in equal measure, from these packs of killers who target our state and attack the children of our homeland," he added.