Turkey to speed up production of domestic UAVs

Work on the production of domestic unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be sped up in Turkey, Trend reports referring to Resmi Gazete.

According to the report, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree on providing the necessary support to government agencies in order to speed up the production of domestic UAVs. The decree was signed in order to strengthen the Turkish defense industry.

During the first six months of 2019, the total volume of exports of the defense industry of Turkey amounted to $1.282 billion, which is 4.4 percent more compared to January-June 2018.

As stated earlier by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey will strengthen the defense industry and will be among the world leaders in the production of defense products.

"I instruct all law enforcement agencies to refuse [to receive] products imported by the defense industry. Turkey is able to provide itself with relevant products," Erdogan said.

The head of state noted that in the near future, the country will begin mass production of the domestic tank ALTAY.

Turkey has invested about $35 billion in the defense industry in recent years.