Turkey's defense, aviation exports up in 2 months

By Goksel Yildirim

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's defense and aviation exports rose 5% in the first two months of the current year, on an annual basis.

The country's exports in the two sectors reached $348.7 million, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency correspondent from the Turkish Exporters' Assembly report.

While the capital Ankara was the largest defense and aviation exporter city with $137.08 million, it was followed by Istanbul with $91.3 million.

The U.S., Germany and the UAE were main destinations for Turkish defense and aviation exports with $131.25 million, $38.23 million and $26.1 million, respectively, in the same period.

The country's defense and aviation exports were $2.7 billion last year and $2.03 billion in the previous year.

Five Turkish defense firms, including Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), armored vehicle maker BMC, missile producer Roketsan, defense contractors ASELSAN and STM were among the top 100 defense companies list, which was released by the U.S.-based magazine Defense News.

In the two-month period, Turkey’s overall exports were $29.4 billion, up 4.3% on a yearly basis.

* Writing and contributions by Gokhan Ergocun from Istanbul