Sir, you've made a very accurate point. As everyone knows, SSB has no huge laborforce resources or no huge defense budgets like biggest suppliers. And we don't have great subsidy and unlimited technical support like Israel. On the contrary, as you can see, we are exposed to covered or open embargo initiatives in all areas. But SSB's 2010-2030 plannings has focused heavily on design capability acquisition, subsystems/microsystems and even materials/metalurgy and manufacturing technologies. There are currently around 700 important defence projects, and 90% of them are not a vehicle or an end-system. Billions of dollars are spent on defence-industrial infrastructure investments every year. The reason for giving this anecdote is to explain how SSB's budget and resources are used at its limits.
Turkey's main aim is to achieve a completely independent position in the supply chain. Therefore, unlike traditional suppliers, developing long-term strategic partnerships with countries with high industrial capacity/potential and strong armies/traditions, bringing theirs defense industry into the our ecosystem will give us a new and independent path.
If we look at TAI, its traditional system integrator from 80s, has focused on design and test capabilities over the past 15 years. In recent years, the first generation of domestic products began to market. The number of platforms it produces now will double in just 10 years. The size of the staff will increase more than twice within 15 years. Nevertheless, the company needs unity(joint forces with common vision) to ensure sustainability in large-scale projects. But, also real change in policies starts from here.
I know that sounds ridiculous to most of PDF members, but Turkish long-term policy makers believes that a third path is possible which is independent from the Eastern bloc, or the western block. Therefore we constantly say that, Turkey's offers of military technologies to other countries are used as a lever for creating long-term strategic alliances not about the money for the moment.