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![\"T\u00fcrkiye](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6a757b054439200f4962d652.jpg\")
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T\u00fcrkiye<\/a>\u2019s growing defense<\/a> sector is close to breaking into the ranks of the world\u2019s top 10 defense exporters as domestically developed platforms gain widespread international trust, the head of the Turkish Defense Industries Secretariat (SSB) said at the agency\u2019s second anniversary event in Ankara on Aug. 6.<\/p>\n Haluk G\u00f6rg\u00fcn, secretary of the SSB, said the global success of Turkish defense platforms was driving demand, while the agency and affiliated companies hosted dozens of foreign delegations every week as an increasing number of countries sought to purchase Turkish defense products.<\/p>\n G\u00f6rg\u00fcn said the sector\u2019s global success was largely due to its human capital, noting that the average age of defense industry employees in T\u00fcrkiye was 34, while some companies generating around $1 billion in revenue had an average employee age of under 30.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks to its young and skilled workforce, T\u00fcrkiye is ready to meet the needs of its allies for decades to come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n G\u00f6rg\u00fcn emphasized that nations survive through the capacity they build long before crises emerge and said the National Competency Initiative, a framework approved at a defense meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan in 2024, represented the human resources and competency dimension of the country\u2019s national resilience strategy.<\/p>\n \u201cMany new fields became decisive in ensuring national security, ranging from artificial intelligence [AI] to quantum technologies and from space exploration to cybersecurity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re determined to be one of the pioneers in this great technological race, since after all, foreign dependence for critical technologies could spell a silent transfer of sovereignty,\u201d G\u00f6rg\u00fcn said.<\/p>\n