Turkish and Israeli defence companies last year saw the highest growth in arms sales globally, the Middle East Eye (MEE) reported.
Turkey’s state-owned arms manufacturers Aselsan and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) were placed in the top five, only surpassed by three Israeli companies, MEE said, citing a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report published on Monday.
According to SIPRI, the top five firms booked more than $15 billion in arms sales last year, recording a jump of 6.5 percent compared with the previous year.
Israel’s Elbit, IAI and Rafael topped the list.
Turkey’s arms industry has largely expanded in recent years, particularly through its domestically built UAVs. The Turkish firms are exporting drones to an increasing number of countries, including several African countries. Especially the TB2 drones, designed by Baykar Makina, are famed by proving effectiveness in a series of conflicts including Ukraine, Libya, Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Turkey’s Aselsan climbed to $2.16 billion in revenues and TAI to $1.2 billion, the Middle East Eye said.
TAI is renowned with its Atak helicopters and Anka drones.
While Turkish drones cannot match the technology of the models produced by Israel and the United States, they are cheaper and they perform better than Chinese or Iranian drones, according to analysts.
Source: Gerçek News
