Defense Industry President Haluk Görgün said at the Defense Industry Provincial Meeting held in Denizli that strategic independence requires securing the entire supply chain, from main platforms to critical components and materials.
Speaking at the event held at a hotel, Görgün said Denizli had made production, entrepreneurship and opening up to the world part of its industrial culture. Görgün noted that the city exported goods worth $4.7 billion to 183 countries in 2025 through 1,676 exporting companies.
Görgün said 13 companies in Denizli were among the country's top 500 industrial enterprises and that the city had 16 R&D centers and 11 design centers. He emphasized that these centers demonstrated the city's technological capabilities.
Emphasis on the entire supply chain
Görgün said the defense and aerospace sectors were being reshaped globally and that all the capabilities sustaining systems developed with national resources must be controlled to ensure that those systems can operate under all conditions.
Görgün said strategic independence requires securing the entire supply chain, from main platforms and subsystems to critical components and materials. He said the technology race was determined not only by the capabilities of companies but by the combined capacity of the ecosystems that support them.
Görgün said 750 companies served the KAAN aircraft program and approximately 1,000 companies served the SİPER air defense system, announcing that the domestic share of the defense industry had reached 83%. He noted that this share had been approximately 20% 23 years ago.
Defense industry exports and employment
Görgün said the defense industry ecosystem had grown to more than 4,000 companies, approximately 1,500 projects and more than 135,000 direct jobs. He said defense and aerospace exports over the past 12 months stood at around $11 billion, adding that Türkiye ranked 11th among countries exporting defense industry products.
Görgün emphasized the need to expand the supply chain and strengthen independence in critical technologies and materials, drawing attention to the importance of moving to new stages in this area.
45 supply relationships with Denizli companies
Görgün said the volume of business between Denizli's industrial base and the defense industry had not yet reached the desired level, announcing that ASELSAN, TUSAŞ, ROKETSAN, HAVELSAN and TEI had 45 supply relationships with companies in the city. He said these relationships represented an annual volume of $1.43 million.
Görgün said investment work on titanium alloys and semi-finished product manufacturing with TEI was continuing in Denizli, and called on companies to apply to the Defense Industry Presidency's YETEN and EYDEP platforms.
Financing support for companies
Görgün said a new credit guarantee program had been launched to increase sectoral liquidity, with a guarantee capacity of 40 billion lira and a total credit utilization volume of 51 billion lira. He announced that 1,580 companies had so far used loans totaling 10 billion lira under the program.
Görgün said financing worth $400 million had been provided to 150 companies through cooperation with Kuveyt Türk Participation Bank. He said companies at the A and B levels under EYDEP had been given access to foreign-currency loans, rediscount facilities and investment financing.
Görgün said subcontractors, SMEs, universities and industrial companies were parts of the same ecosystem, calling for Denizli to become one of the defense industry's strong centers in critical materials, precision manufacturing and reliable supply.
AK Party Denizli Deputy Şahin Tin said Denizli's industry was ready to contribute to the defense industry's progress with its infrastructure and experience. Denizli Chamber of Industry Chairman Selim Kasapoğlu said the defense industry offered an opportunity to increase the city's share of medium- and high-technology exports.
Denizli Governor Yavuz Selim Köşger, AK Party Deputy Cahit Özkan, New Party Deputy Şeref Arpacı, protocol members and industrialists attended the event. Following the speeches, bilateral meetings were held between defense industry companies and Denizli industrialists.
