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NEWS
36
Four Turkish firms named among top
100 defense companies
Four Turkish companies have been
named in the most prestigious
defense industry list, Defense
News Top 100. While Aselsan,
Tusas and Roketsan hold their
places on the list, STM joined the
list on Monday for the first time.
In the U.S.-based magazine
Defense News’ annual list on
company sales, Aselsan was
ranked 55th, Tusas 64th, Roketsan
96th and STM 97th.
Four Turkish companies have been
named in the most prestigious defense
industry list, Defense News Top 100.
Turkey’s leading defense company
Aselsan’s 2017 income was $1.4
billion, up from $1.2 billion in the
previous year. It is active in military
and civil telecommunications,
radar, electronic warfare, defense,
weapons, command control and
navigation systems.
Tusas earned $1.1 billion in 2017
by manufacturing unmanned air
vehicles (Anka), helicopters (Atak)
and planes (Hurkus).
Missile producer Roketsan and
another defense industry company
STM’s incomes were $376 million
and $369 million in 2017.
The U.S.-based Lockheed Martin
was ranked first in the list with
nearly $48 billion; it was followed
by the U.S.-based Raytheon
Company ($23.6 billion) and the
U.K.-based BAE Systems ($21.7
billion).
Turkey’s contributions to NATO are
‘essential,’ NATO chief says
“In all of these efforts, Turkey’s
contributions will be essential,”
he said.
The transatlantic alliance is to
boost its Command Structure by
more than 1,200 personnel, and
to have 30 mechanized battalions,
30 air squadrons and 30 combat
vessels ready to use within 30 days
or less through a NATO Readiness
Initiative, Stoltenberg said.
Turkey will play an essential role in
NATO’s security enhancement efforts,
which will include creating two new
commands across the Atlantic and
within Europe, NATO Secretary
General Jens Stoltenberg said in an
online interview on July 9.
His remarks came ahead of the
NATO Summit in Brussels on July
11-12 and amid a rift on Ankara’s
missile weapons systems deal with
Russia.
In the meantime, Turkey is
preparing to take on a new, bigger
role in the transatlantic alliance
with a task to command the
Very High Readiness Joint Force
(VJFT) in 2021 along with France,
Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and
the United Kingdom, Stoltenberg
said. “The details related to the
Turkish’s rotational lead are still
being finalized, but this is another
example of Turkey’s valuable
contributions to Euro-Atlantic
security,” he added.
NATO’s Spearhead Force, the
VJFT, is part of the NATO
Response Force (NRF)—about
20,000 strong—which includes
a multinational land brigade of
around 5,000 troops, including
land, air, maritime and special
operations forces components.
The enhanced NRF will number
around 40,000 troops, Stoltenberg
said.
Interoperability critical,
Stoltenberg says on
S-400 deal
Coming to the topic of Turkey’s
S-400 deal with Russia,
Stoltenberg underlined the
importance of the interoperability
of the military equipment with
what NATO has.
“It is up to each Ally to decide
what military equipment they
buy. What matters for NATO
is that the equipment Allies
acquire is able to operate together.
Interoperability of our armed
forces is fundamental to NATO
for the conduct of our operations
and missions,” Stoltenberg said.
Not surprisingly, he also brought
up Turkey’s air defense system deal
with the European consortium.
“Buying equipment from other
Allied countries generally
enhances interoperability and
security. Therefore, I welcome that
a Memorandum of Understanding
has been signed between Turkey
and a Franco-Italian consortium
to co-produce air defense systems
from European Allies,” the
alliance head said.
Turkey, a highly valued
ally: Stoltenberg
Turkey is a highly valued ally for
NATO for many reasons, not least
because of its strategic geographic
location, bordering Russia in the
Black Sea but also Iraq and Syria
to the south, Stoltenberg said.
“Turkey makes many contributions
to our shared security,” Stoltenberg
said.In the interview, Stoltenberg
reassured NATO and Turkey
remain intact. “We recognize that
Turkey faces a difficult security
situation, and NATO stands in
solidarity with Turkey,” he said.