Turkey, UAE strengthen defense industry ties with dozens of deals

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have signed 24 framework agreements to bolster cooperation among their defense industries , Emirati conglomerate Edge Group announced Wednesday.

The agreements follow several years of political disputes between the two nations, which decided to reconcile their differences in 2022. And the two countries in July 2023 signed 13 agreements valued at $50.7 billion, which saw the UAE invest in Turkey’s defense and space sectors.

The accords were signed during a defense industry event in Ankara, Turkey, jointly held by Istanbul-based defense expo business SAHA and Edge Group. The gathering included 10 of Edge Group’s subsidiaries and 125 Turkish defense companies.

The Turkish firms included military electronics specialist Aselsan, the country’s largest defense company; aeronautical technology heavyweight Turkish Aerospace Industries; engine producer Tusas Engine Industries; missile maker Roketsan; drone manufacturer Baykar; military software producer Havelsan; and the state-controlled defense technologies firm STM.

“There is already a large-scale defense industry cooperation with the UAE. At this event we signed letters of intent to upgrade this relationship with the participation of small and medium-sized [defense] entities. We are aiming at synergy,” said Haluk Bayraktar , SAHA’s president and board chairman of Baykar.

As part of the new agreements, Edge Group has set up an organization in the UAE dubbed MALATH to handle the conglomerate’s cooperation with SAHA.

“MALATH’s only task is to coordinate UAE-Turkey defense programs. These programs will involve joint projects, direct [defense industry] trade, investment and co-production,” Bayraktar said.

Burak Ege Bekdil was the Turkey correspondent for Defense News.

土耳其安卡拉——阿联酋企业集团Edge Group周三宣布，土耳其和阿拉伯联合酋长国签署了24项框架协议，以加强两国国防工业的合作。

这些协议是在两国经历了数年的政治争端后达成的，两国于 2022 年决定化解分歧。2023 年 7 月，两国签署了 13 项协议，总价值达 507 亿美元，阿联酋据此对土耳其的国防和航天领域进行了投资。

这些协议是在土耳其安卡拉举行的一次国防工业活动上签署的，该活动由总部位于伊斯坦布尔的国防展览公司SAHA和Edge集团联合举办。Edge集团的10家子公司和125家土耳其国防公司参加了此次活动。

这些土耳其公司包括：军用电子专家阿塞尔桑（Aselsan），该国最大的国防公司；航空技术巨头土耳其航空航天工业公司（Turkish Aerospace Industries）；发动机生产商图萨斯发动机工业公司（Tusas Engine Industries）；导弹制造商罗克特桑公司（Roketsan）；无人机制造商拜卡公司（Baykar）；军事软件生产商哈维尔桑公司（Havelsan）；以及国有国防技术公司STM。

“我们与阿联酋在国防工业领域已经开展了大规模合作。在本次活动中，我们签署了意向书，旨在通过中小规模国防企业的参与，进一步提升双方的合作关系。我们的目标是实现协同效应。”SAHA总裁兼Baykar董事会主席哈鲁克·巴伊拉克塔尔表示。

作为新协议的一部分，Edge Group 在阿联酋成立了一个名为 MALATH 的组织，负责处理该集团与 SAHA 的合作事宜。

“MALATH的唯一任务是协调阿联酋和土耳其的国防项目。这些项目将包括联合项目、直接的国防工业贸易、投资和联合生产，”巴伊拉克塔尔说。

布拉克·埃格·贝克迪尔是《防务新闻》的土耳其通讯员。