Turkey's problematic defense industry policy for military projects

Close to the end of 2013, on Dec. 27, Turkey awarded one of the biggest and costliest navy projects to a local shipyard company, Sedef Gemi Insaati A.S., which partnered with the Spanish company Navantia.

This project, like some other military acquisition tenders, requires close scrutiny because the lack of transparency in Turkey also applies to military expenditures.

For a long time, Turkey did not have a defense industry policy based on a clear goal of boosting local industry and putting an emphasis on the export of weapons. The relationship between the user, i.e. the military, and the buyer, i.e., the state, in arms procurement policies was also very blurred due to the military's interference in the acquisition of weapons.

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