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Türkiye’s defense industry has become one of the most effective models within NATO as Europe struggles with fragmented procurement systems and changing battlefield realities, Chatham House economist Timothy Ash said on Thursday during a panel at SAHA 2026 in Istanbul.
Ash argued that the war in Ukraine had exposed weaknesses in NATO’s traditional defense structure and accelerated the need for faster, more autonomous production models.
"Europe’s defense structure is fragmented and inefficient, while Türkiye’s more autonomous model produces effective results," Ash argued. "NATO should actually learn from Türkiye."
Ash argued that NATO’s current procurement system no longer reflected the realities of modern warfare and said Türkiye had been forced to build a more independent defense structure due to sanctions and difficulties with some NATO partners.
"Look at the long-range missiles developed by ROKETSAN. What Baykar has achieved is truly extraordinary," he highlighted Türkiye’s advanced capabilities in developing domestic defense technologies.
He said Finland, Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Türkiye are expected to emerge as Europe’s most influential military powers in the coming years, as countries possessing strong domestic defense production capacity will form the continent’s future security backbone.
Canadian Defense Procurement Minister Stephen Fuhr said defense procurement systems must keep pace with rapidly changing technology.
"If procurement processes become slower while technology cycles shrink, the result is outdated systems that no longer meet battlefield needs," Fuhr stated, noting that Canada had already begun restructuring its procurement model.
He also emphasized Canada’s openness to cooperation with Türkiye, praising the capabilities of Turkish defense firms.
Ole Aguirre of Digital Transformation Capital Partners (DTCP) argued that Europe’s approach toward Türkiye in the security ecosystem needed to change.
"Europe is not ready for digital transformation. Europe needs Türkiye," Aguirre said, adding that years of cooperation with Turkish defense companies had left him impressed by the sector’s progress.
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