President Erdoğan attended the ROKETSAN Production Facilities Opening and Groundbreaking Ceremony

President Erdoğan attended the “ROKETSAN Production Facilities Opening, Mass Production Deliveries and Groundbreaking Ceremony” held in Lalahan. Erdoğan, who started his speech by greeting the participants, said, “First of all, I want it to be known that we condemn the treacherous attack that took place today at noon in Beşiktaş, Istanbul, and was foiled by the successful intervention of our heroic security forces.” he said.

Stating that 3 terrorists, one dead and two injured, were neutralized in the heinous terrorist act, Erdoğan said, “Two of our heroic police officers were slightly injured during the intervention. Both our Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and our police and intelligence units quickly launched the necessary investigations into the attack. I wish a speedy recovery to our injured police officers, and I wish the Istanbul Police and the people of Istanbul to get well soon.

We will continue our fight with determination against all forms of terrorism, as low and timely as today.” “We will not allow Turkey’s climate of trust to be damaged through provocations.” made the statement. Sending his greetings to the ROKETSAN family, which adds new successes every day with the projects, products and systems developed by the Turkish Armed Forces, which write epics on land, at sea and in the air, and to each member of more than 4,500 companies operating in the defense industry, Erdoğan said, “First of all, I would like to express this truth with all my heart; we are a nation that lives with its martyrs and believes that its martyrs are also alive.

For exactly a thousand years, the Adhan of Muhammad has been in the skies.” “I remember with full respect all our martyrs who sacrificed their lives so that our homeland, our state will be eternal, our nation will be free, so that our homes, homes and hopes will not be extinguished, our flag will fly with glory, honor and pride in the skies.” he said. Expressing his gratitude to all the veterans who fought heroically for the future of the country and the nation, Erdoğan continued as follows: “I would like to wholeheartedly thank all our engineers, software developers, technicians, workers, managers and academics who work tirelessly in the defense industry, putting not only their hands but also their bodies under the responsibility when necessary, and carrying the industry to this day.

I also congratulate our Presidency of Defense Industries, which ensures that these studies are carried out in harmony with its holistic management capacity, and I wish them continued success. May God bless you. I hope that the effort you put forward and the effort you put in for Turkey’s strong, effective, respected and bright future will be beneficial for all of us. Today, we are leaving behind another very important threshold on the path to a fully independent Türkiye in defense.

Soon, hopefully, we will open our Kırıkkale Fuel Production Facilities, Lalahan Warhead Facility, and Advanced Technologies R&D and Engineering Center. In addition, we will deliver many weapon groups to our heroic army, such as our TAYFUN, SİPER, ATMACA, HİSAR-A, HİSAR-O and SUNGUR systems, as well as ÇAKIR, SOM, and MAM-T and MAM-L, the sharp claws of our SİHAs. We will also lay the foundations of our Lalahan Missile Integration Facilities.

“With these investments, which will make our defense industry a stronger development axis and increase the rate of qualified employment, we will strengthen our Layered Air Defense System, increase our strategic power, and strengthen our cruise and ballistic missile capabilities. We will make significant contributions to our smart ammunition family, mass production speed and R&D capacity.” “It constitutes a very critical stage on the way to the goal.” Stating that the air defense architecture will be further strengthened as these systems, which constitute the striking power of the Steel Dome, reach a higher production rate, Erdoğan said: “With this new infrastructure established for our critical air defense systems, strategic missile projects and smart ammunition capabilities, we will increase the deterrence of our heroic army to much higher levels.

I would especially like to underline this; The main goal of the coming period in the defense industry is to produce high-tech products faster, more effectively and in higher quantities. The investments we have launched today constitute a very critical stage on the way to the goal we have set. With these facilities and systems, whose completed investment cost has reached one billion dollars and whose total investment scale has reached 3 billion dollars, we will reach the target faster and accelerate the determined steps we have taken.

Once again, good luck. “I wholeheartedly congratulate every brother who contributed to the mass production process of these products that draw a new horizon for the industry, and I would like to express my gratitude once again to our ROKETSAN family.” In his speech, President Erdoğan stated that we are experiencing a period in which digitalization and artificial intelligence-based algorithms have completely reshaped the concept of defense.

Pointing out that as technology advances, the nature of the products and software needed in the field changes day by day, Erdoğan said that they have witnessed this very closely, especially in the war, conflict and crisis environments that have recently broken out in the immediate vicinity. “We contribute to global peace and security at the highest level.” Emphasizing that even milliseconds make a big difference in the diagnosis, detection, decision-making, intervention and destruction processes, President Erdoğan continued his words as follows: “We are in an age where air, land and sea domination are intertwined, and unmanned technologies and positioning in cyberspace change all balances.

At this point, I would like to express with great pride. We are one of the founding actors of this new order in which the rules and processes are reshaped. Cyber warfare has replaced trench warfare.” We do not have to worry about keeping up with this new system of wars, because we, as a country, determine the direction and course both in the field and in technology. We have become one of the countries that set the norm in this field with the products, systems, software and platforms we have developed in the last 23 years, with our strong human resources and institutional capacity.

Today, Turkey is a country that protects its own skies, equips its own platforms and develops its own ammunition. Moreover, we can do all this with our own intelligence, engineering and human resources. We come to the aid of our friends and allies upon their request and contribute to global peace and security at the highest level. Today, we are proud to be at a world-renowned level in the field of defense industry.” “Above all else, we trust the power of our own hands.” “Today, while missiles and drones are flying around us, we feel safe and can lay our heads on the pillow at night with peace of mind.” Erdogan said and made the following evaluations: “Today, God forbid, if something happens to us, we trust not to anyone else, but first of all to the strength of our own hands.

Not only us, but also our competitors and adversaries know these very well. But it is also a fact that we have never easily reached proud levels in the defense industry, the importance of which is better understood these days. We were tested, we were stalled, we were abandoned, we were blocked, we were threatened. “We were exposed to restrictions that we did not deserve, but we did not submit to any of them.” He criticized the opposition’s reactions to defense industry investments.

Stating that they have reached these days with the prayers and support of the dear nation, the efforts of those who shed their wisdom and sweat in the defense industry, the coordination of institutions and the strong will of the state, Erdoğan said: “Of course, while doing these, we also witnessed tragicomic scenes. Remember, while we were conducting missile tests in Sinop, the leader of the main opposition party said, “Fish are frightened by the sound of missiles and leave their nests.” While we were trying to diversify our defense tools, his predecessor, whom this person said goodbye to with crocodile tears, was saying, ‘What is the need for these, who will attack us?’ at a time when our region was a fire scene.

We have encountered many sabotage attempts that defy reason, conscience and morality, from those who said they would touch the defense industry when they came to power to those who exploited the Tank Pallet Factory. If we had listened to these, God forbid, we would not have been even close to where we are today in the defense industry. But we said, ‘Our aim is to see the Turkish youth take wings. I have sacrificed all my personal wealth for this cause.

We followed in the footsteps of the late Nuri Demirağ, who said, “If necessary, I am ready to sell even the shirt I have on my back for this purpose.” We claimed the legacy of our late brother Özdemir Bayraktar, who dedicated his life to the great and powerful Turkey by saying ‘We did our duty from the situation’ despite the countless obstacles he encountered. We shouldered the legacy of Sultan Fatih, whose Shahi cannons changed the concept of war of the period and opened and ended eras.

As a result, we managed to crown the troubles, difficulties and sufferings of Vecihi Hürkuş, Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha and Piri Reis with today’s successes and turn them into a statement of pride.” “We increased our exports to over 10 billion dollars last year.” President Erdoğan reminded that they reduced the foreign dependency rate in defense from 80 percent to 20 percent. Explaining that the sectoral turnover exceeded 20 billion dollars, R&D expenditures reached 3.5 billion dollars, the number of active projects exceeded 1400 and the project portfolio exceeded 100 billion, Erdoğan said: “We increased our defense exports, which were only 248 million dollars in 2002, to over 10 billion dollars last year.

In the first quarter of 2026, our defense and aerospace exports reached 1 billion 910 million dollars, an increase of 12.1 percent compared to the same period last year. We will achieve the 11 billion dollar export volume that we have set as our 2028 target, and hopefully we will be among the top 10 in the world in defense exports. After the wars in our immediate vicinity end, we, as a nation, will achieve great growth in every field, especially in the defense industry.

Despite the efforts to block Turkey’s path, I hope we will achieve this great breakthrough together.” “From rocket technologies to satellite launch capabilities, we are taking strong steps forward.” Stating that ROKETSAN is one of the institutions that represent Turkey’s engineering claim, strategic mind and high technology vision and that it has fulfilled a very important mission in this blessed march, Erdoğan said, “ROKETSAN, which exports the products it has developed to more than 50 countries today, makes very important contributions to the technology-oriented development of our country.

“Our ROKETSAN family continues to strengthen the high-tech character of our defense industry with its more than 7 thousand employees, hundreds of projects carried out and deep engineering experience, 4 R&D centers with more than 3 thousand personnel, national patent performance and trained human resources.” he said. President Erdoğan stated that, as Türkiye, they continue to work determinedly towards their goal of independent access to space, and said: “We are taking strong steps in a wide range of fields, from rocket technologies to satellite launch capabilities.

Hopefully, ROKETSAN’s work will increase our strength in the realization of this vision that brings defense and space together on the same horizon. On behalf of myself and my nation, I would like to thank all members of our ROKETSAN family for their critical contributions to the industry. I would like to express my gratitude to all components of this great ecosystem, from our SMEs to our subcontractors, from our engineers to our workers.

I pray that God will help us. With these thoughts in mind, I hope that the facilities we have opened, the systems we have delivered and the new investments we have laid the foundations of will once again be beneficial for our country, our nation and our security forces. I wholeheartedly congratulate our Ministry of National Defense, Presidency of Defense Industries, ROKETSAN, all our institutions and private sector stakeholders who contributed to these projects.” President Erdoğan inspected ROKETSAN Production Facilities.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inspected the inaugurated ROKETSAN Production Facilities. Erdoğan attended the “ROKETSAN Production Facilities Opening, Mass Production Deliveries and Groundbreaking Ceremony” held in Lalahan. ROKETSAN General Manager Murat İkin gave information to Erdoğan, who inspected the facilities, about the facilities and works. Erdoğan took a souvenir photo in front of the products produced by ROKETSAN and signed the Tayfun Block-4 missile.

Notes from the ceremony President Erdoğan examined the local and national defense industry products produced by ROKETSAN before the ceremony. Erdogan, who received information from the authorities, took a souvenir photo with the delegation in front of the products. Before his speech, a promotional film prepared by ROKETSAN was shown, explaining President Erdoğan’s support for the national technology move. After his speech, ROKETSAN General Manager Murat İkin presented President Erdoğan with a mosaic painting with the ROKETSAN logo on which Tayfun, Atmaca and Siper were engraved with natural stones taken from different regions of Turkey.

Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, Commander of the Land Forces General Metin Tokel, Commander of the Naval Forces Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, Commander of the Air Forces General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu, Presidential Private Secretary Hasan Doğan, Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, Presidential Foreign Policy and Security Chief Advisor Ambassador Akif Çağatay Kılıç, President of Religious Affairs Safi Arpaguş, AK Party General Secretary Eyyüp Kadir İnan, AK Party Deputy Chairman Ahmet Baha Öğütken, Hayati Yazıcı, Hasan Basri Yalçın, Hüseyin Yayman, Kürşad Zorlu, Ömer İleri and Baykar General Manager Haluk Bayraktar and foreigners.

diplomats attended. A live connection was made to Kırıkkale Fuel Production Facilities, one of the ROKETSAN production facilities to be opened later. ROKETSAN Deputy General Manager Görkem Bingöl also gave information about the facility in the live link. Erdoğan said that with this production in Kırıkkale, serious gains will be achieved in ammunition. After the prayer recited by the President of Religious Affairs Safi Arpaguş, the opening ceremony was held by cutting the ribbon.

Source: AA