SASAD: A Pioneering, Strong And Innovative Non-Governmental Organization

We keep representing our defence and aerospace industry at domestic and international levels

Established in 1989 by 12 Industrialists working in the sector with the encouragement and support of the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Türkiye, the Turkish Defence and Aerospace Industry Manufacturers Association (SASAD) started to represent the civil aviation industry, following the developments in 2012. With the mission of contributing to the development and strengthening of the industry since the day it was established, SASAD has been aiming to contribute to the development of companies and organizations that carry out and/or started their operations to carry out manufacturing, design, engineering, logistics support and training activities in areas such as defence, aviation, space, and domestic security, their competitiveness in international markets, perform activities with the purpose of realizing the common goals of their members, deal with their problems collectively, ensure cooperation, solidarity, and information flow among their members. As SASAD, which hosts more than 250 manufacturing companies and establishments and 6 clusters, we are accelerating our efforts to support the achievements in the industry in line with our role as the umbrella organization of the defence and aerospace industry in our country. We support our members operating in the industry with the purpose of increasing their competence and abilities through the studies we have developed under our association or in which we are involved as a project partner, and we keep representing our industry at domestic and international levels. This may be perceived as a significant sign of how national and international events contribute to us in terms of promoting our country.

The defence policies in our country have stood out with the importance placed on domestic production in recent years

SASAD also represents our country in the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) and contributes to the shaping of the European Commission through the opinions and suggestions of the industry via this organization. Our Association helps its members to expand to the international arena through the protocols signed with similar organizations of other countries. As a result of the increase in the investment rates allocated to defence each year, and particularly due to the increasing threats in the regional sense, many countries not only review their defence policies and the investment they have allocated to the industry, but they also prefer to increase the
sectoral share in their annual budgets in direct proportion to this issue.

Due to this increase, the defence policies in our country have stood out with the importance placed on domestic production in recent years. Supporting global developments in the aerospace industry through national and domestic initiatives, the Turkish defence industry reveals how far Türkiye has advanced in the field of defence, especially through the achievements obtained by UCAVs. As a result of these developments, we, as SASAD, have recently participated in many national and international events. We held dozens of meetings at events such as SEDEC, SAHA Istanbul, ISNR, Aeromart Toulouse, signed formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and expanded national and international market scopes for domestic companies. Besides maintaining these initiatives in 2023 and participating in already existing international events, as SASAD, we also aim to increase their export activities by organizing regional Sectoral Trade Committees with our members. Currently, the Turkish defence industry’s exports are increasing day by day with a turnover of over USD 10 billion and more than 75,000 employees. In line with the 2023 Export Strategy of Türkiye, an export of USD 3.2 billion was made in 2021, and this amount is seen to be exceeded USD 4 billion in 2022. It is predicted that the increase in the defence industry will keep following a positive direction in 2023 and this figure will reach USD 6 billion. Considering the breakthroughs our country has made in the last 20 years, we see that the biggest of these achievements is the R&D and nationalization projects in the defence industry. In particular, as İsmail Demir, President of the Defence Industries, we aim to meet all the needs of the Turkish defence industry which involve our national security through domestic and national means, in all activities carried out which are related to issues such as serial production, R&D, innovation, industrialization policies, financial support, sustainability, and so on.

As SASAD, particularly the Ministry of National Defence and the Presidency of Defence Industries, we are striving to do our part in order for providing sectoral solidarity, cooperation, information flow, and cooperation in these future targets set for our country. Developing and realizing projects in the fields of human resources, entrepreneurship, R&D and innovation needed in the industry, as well as in the creation of strategies for the development of the defence, aviation, and space industry are the reasons for the existence of our association. As a leading, strong and innovative non-governmental organization that includes all stakeholders operating in the Turkish Defence, Aviation and Space Industry at the national and international levels, SASAD keeps pioneering the growth and development of the Turkish Defence Industry.