During the two-day event, 42 OSSA member companies discussed collaboration opportunities with HAVELSAN to produce domestic and national technologies in 43 different fields of activity.
The opening of the workshop, organized via video conference using the HAVELSAN Dialog application, was held with the participation of OSTİM Technical University Rector Prof. Dr. Murat Yülek, HAVELSAN General Manager Dr. Mehmet Akif Nacar, and OSSA Board Chairman A. Mithat Ertuğ.
Export potential is promising
OSSA Chairman Mithat Ertuğ, drawing attention to the success of recent projects implemented in the defense industry, said, "The Turkish defense and aerospace industry has reached a point where it can produce its own tanks, helicopters, ships, and unmanned aerial vehicles."
Ertuğ noted that the domestic production rate in meeting the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces has exceeded 70 percent, and stated that the progress made and the potential in exports are promising for the future.
Mithat Ertuğ noted that OSSA continues to bring together main industrial firms and SMEs in line with its founding purpose, adapting to pandemic conditions, and shared the following views: “Therefore, I attach great importance to the meeting of our SMEs, which I describe as heroes, with main contractors. In our workshop, together with over 40 member firms in 43 different fields of activity, we will discuss cooperation opportunities with the aim of contributing to the technologies that HAVELSAN, one of the leading companies in our country, will develop, and producing domestic and national technologies. I believe that the bilateral meetings will be productive in finding solutions to both the issues determined within the scope of our workshop and different needs that may arise instantly during the meetings.”
Ertuğ pointed out that, prioritizing information security, they conducted the workshop through the Diyalog program developed by HAVELSAN.
Working towards sustainable collaborations
HAVELSAN General Manager Dr. Mehmet Akif Nacar reminded that Turkey has made significant progress in industry and defense industry with the support of SMEs during the pandemic period.
Highlighting OSSA's contributions to the defense industry, Nacar said, "OSSA plays a significant role in increasing domestic and national production in our defense industry with its capabilities in R&D and manufacturing. Our OSSA member companies are also solution partners in many national projects in the defense sector. It also adds value to our sector through Industrial Cooperation in Defense and Aerospace (ICDDA)."
Emphasizing that HAVELSAN works towards sustainable collaborations, General Manager Nacar said, "Our most fundamental principle is to produce domestic and national products and to develop collaborations and strategies towards this goal."
Nacar pointed out that developed countries improve their domestic products through protectionist policies.
“Exports of domestic products should increase”
The General Manager of HAVELSAN listed the key areas they prioritize in localization efforts as follows: supporting the investment, production, employment, and export value chain; adopting an approach that values innovation, design, and branding; and acting with the goal of exporting value-added products.
Nacar, explaining that they also attach great importance to exports, said, “The most important step to be taken after localization is to increase the export rates of domestic products. In other words, to create economies of scale. As our domestic added value increases, our level of dependence on foreign countries will decrease with high-tech national products. The localization, branding, and export of critical products and components will also enrich our technological competence network in the defense sector on the international platform.”
Similar platforms should be established in the civilian industry.
OSTİM Technical University Rector Prof. Dr. Murat Yülek pointed out that Turkey is one of the leading countries in the world in the defense industry, but the same is not true in the civilian sectors.
Yülek stated, "In areas such as medical device technologies, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and rail systems, we unfortunately cannot achieve the same success we have in the defense industry, particularly due to the lack of coordination in public sector procurement policies."
Yülek stated that the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey's Defense Industry Directorate fulfills its role as an industrial development platform and that the sector has achieved success worldwide, adding, "This was achieved through the prioritization of domestic industry development by organizations like HAVELSAN, under the leadership of the Defense Industry Directorate."
Highlighting the importance of the collaboration between OSSA and HAVELSAN, Yülek said, “In this project, HAVELSAN is exploring the capabilities within OSSA in technological fields, many of which also have implications for civilian areas, showing them its own needs and vision, and thus leading them in order to contribute to the formation of Turkey's domestic industrial and technological capacity in these fields.”
