IDEF 2023
The 16th edition of the International Defense Industry Fair that took place July 25-28 at the Istanbul Tüyap Fair Center and was closed by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
According to data provided by the organisers the 2023 edition, which marked the 30th anniversary of the exhibition initially held in Ankara and then moved to Istanbul saw the participation 1,461 exhibitors, 689 of which national and 772 foreign. On the closure day the number of visitors stepped over 100,000, of which nearly 15% from foreign countries, delegations from 81 countries attending the event.
”Over the relatively short span of 30 years in terms of fair history, IDEF has transformed into a global brand where the heart of the defence industry beats. This reality, which is an important gain for Türkiye, is confirmed not only by the number of participants and companies but also by the expanding range of our products,” Mr. Erdoğan Said during the closing ceremony. The increasing variety of military products developed in Turkey, and the thrust towards all-Turkish solution was evident, most OEMs looking for nationally designed and produced subsystems, which allow a higher freedom of movement on the international market when exporting their products.
While the inside competition is positive in terms of push towards products improvements, we wonder for how long the Turkish nation will be able to sustain this, which inevitably brings to a dispersion of R&D resources and to reduced numbers even when looking at the export market, especially in some areas.
That said IDEF remains the showcase of the Turkish defence industry, public and private. “We have witnessed the importance of close cooperation between the public and private sectors here,” President Erdoğan underlined in his closing remarks.
Hereafter EDR On-Line readers will find a selection of the many new systems presented by industry during IDEF 2023.
Meteksan launches its Felix on-the-move C-UAS system
MKE 20 YHSS mm naval close-in weapon systems goes on land
Spira unveils Ilgar, a new loitering munition
Malaman and Uça; the sea bottom Turkish challenge to enemy naval platforms
BMC Power: Turkey aims at propulsion independence on land and partly at sea
Havelsan Çaka s-kusv, an invisible threat for naval ships
FNSS unveils its hybrid propulsion roadmap
STM goes . . . underwater!
FNSS: delivering on time and looking a new opportunities
Otokar unveils its Alpar 15 tonnes unmanned ground vehicle
Roketsan unveils its Burç mobile air defence gun-missile system
Otokar unveils the Repair and Recovery variant of its Arma II 8×8
