Türkiye advancing toward becoming ‘one of the poles of the new international system’: Erdoğan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday stressed Türkiye‘s advance toward becoming “one of the poles of the new international system” at a time when the global security paradigm is undergoing “a radical transformation.”

Speaking at the National Defense University graduation ceremony, he said artificial intelligence and emerging technologies are profoundly reshaping every aspect of life, from education and healthcare to finance, transportation, and public services, adding that their impact is even more evident in defense and security.

“Wars are no longer fought only on the battlefield. They are also waged through cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. Critical infrastructure, energy transmission lines, and trade routes are being targeted by kamikaze drones,” Erdoğan said, noting the growing role of unmanned aerial and naval vehicles, as well as artificial intelligence-driven software in determining the outcome of military operations.

Erdoğan stressed that in this environment, where reconnaissance and real-time intelligence have become indispensable force multipliers, planning, command, and control are more critical than ever.

He also noted that Türkiye’s defense industry production has achieved an 82% domestic production rate, adding that the products are tested directly in the field and constantly refined and updated based on feedback.

Erdoğan said engineers, software developers, technicians, and nearly 4,000 companies operating in the defense sector continue to add new achievements every day, stressing that these advances have enabled Türkiye to equip its security forces with domestically produced, state-of-the-art equipment.

Highlighting the country’s growing defense exports, Erdoğan said it exported more than $11 billion in defense and aerospace products over the past 12 months, setting a new record.

“Our (defense) exports this January-June reached $4.665 billion, up nearly 30% from the same period last year. In June alone, we exported products worth $803 million,” he said.