“Technology and Competence Meetings” within the scope of the “National Competence Move” project carried out under the coordination of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) were held in Berlin with the intense participation of Turkish students, engineers and academics living in Germany. Representatives of ASELSAN, TAI, ROKETSAN, HAVELSAN, STM, TEI, SSTEK, Koluman, Teknopark Istanbul and HEAŞ, which play a leading role in Turkey’s defense industry, came together within the scope of the program.
Participating companies held strategic meetings and sectoral meetings during the event, especially focusing on human resource planning and talent management. Vice President of Defense Industries of the Presidency Prof. Dr. Hakan Karataş made a presentation titled “National Competence Move” to the participants at the meeting. Karataş shared the huge growth of the Turkish defense industry in recent years and its strategic position in the global market with figures.
Emphasizing that the Turkish defense industry has transformed from a structure that only produces platforms into an integrated ecosystem competing with world giants, Karataş emphasized that the 10 billion dollar threshold in exports has been exceeded. 764 companies are working on a single project. Drawing attention to the power of the ecosystem that underlies the success in the defense industry, Karataş cited a special defense project as an example.
Karataş said, “764 different companies, universities and R&D centers are involved in this project alone. Each of our 1400 actively carried out projects provides employment for thousands of engineers and technicians. If you cannot establish this ecosystem, even if you make the best design, your production power will be insufficient.” he said. Exports to NATO and EU countries Noting that Turkish defense products have proven their worth by exporting to 185 countries, Karataş stated that in addition to last year’s 10 billion dollar delivery, a new contract worth 18 billion dollars was signed.
Karataş stated that 55 percent of exports to NATO and European Union countries are a confirmation of the success of Turkish technology at international standards. Smart and connected systems Stating that the industry has moved from the “original design” phase to the “mass production” period and that engineering approaches will evolve with platforms such as KAAN, Gökbey, Altay and Kızılelma, Karataş said, “In the next 15 years, the defense industry will be built on smarter, artificial intelligence-supported and connected systems that talk to each other.
We now have to be ready for long-term operational environments that are sustainable and have logistics depth. We are transforming our capacity by switching from design engineering to process engineering.” he said. Karataş defined engineering development as a stepped architecture and stated that they predict that the ratio of technicians and operators will increase to 60 percent with mass production. Signaling a radical change in vocational education, Karataş said, “In-class training is being replaced by experience-oriented models.
With the ‘Competency Development and Excellence Centers’ that we will soon implement, we will provide our young people with critical experiences in the heart of the sector.” he said. Karataş touched upon the strategic importance of this bond established with the Turkish diaspora abroad and said, “Our defense industry is growing at a tremendous pace. “We are here to manage this growth with the right competencies.” made his assessment.
Career and common sense consultations: In the sessions held within the program, comprehensive presentations were made under the titles “National Competence Move”, “Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Defense Industry”, “Being an Engineer in the Defense Industry” and “Career Opportunities in the Defense Industry”. Representatives of the industry’s leading organizations shared Turkey’s defense vision and future projections with the participants.
In the “Common Mind Consultation Meetings”, one of the remarkable parts of the event, Turkish professionals working abroad and company representatives from Turkey came together. During the meetings, mutual information was exchanged in order to transfer global experience to national projects and strengthen the qualified human resources network. Source: AA 📌 “Technology and Competence Meetings” were held in Germany. 📌Defense Industry Vice President Prof.
Dr. Hakan Karataş (@drhkaratas) made a presentation titled “National Competence Move” to the participants at the meeting. 🔗https://t.co/eAtQw5qUT7 pic.twitter.com/AiYmQtW7Ix — DefenseHere (@defensehere_tr) April 18, 2026
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