Turkish companies signed approximately $8 billion in export contracts during the first 3 days of the SAHA 2026 International Defense, Aviation and Space Industry Fair. The milestone was announced by SAHA Istanbul Board Chair and Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar on social media; Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek reposted and endorsed the message. SAHA 2026 is being held at the Istanbul Expo Center, organized by SAHA Istanbul. 'At SAHA 2026 we have set a historic record as a country. In the first 3 days of the fair, our firms signed approximately $8 billion in export contracts,' Bayraktar said.
SAHA Istanbul, with more than 1,500 member firms, is Türkiye's largest defense-aerospace-space industrial cluster; alongside sector leaders such as Baykar, Aselsan, TUSAŞ, Roketsan, MKE and HAVELSAN, it includes tier-2 and tier-3 sub-industry firms. Contracts signed during the fair span UAV / armed UAV agreements, radar systems, electronic warfare equipment, missile components, satellite components and military software. Türkiye, which set a $962 million record monthly defense export in April, is taking these SAHA 2026 numbers toward President Erdoğan's stated $10 billion annual defense export target for 2026.
From a supply chain perspective, the $8 billion 3-day record drives three layers of structural impact. First, the SAHA Istanbul cluster's supplier pool: 70-75% of the 1,500+ members are SMEs; preventing finance, material and late-payment stress requires the KOSGEB defense support package (TRY 30 billion announced on May 8) and Eximbank export financing. Second, tier-2/3 sub-industry capacity: tool shops, composite material producers and electronic-board manufacturers will need capacity expansion investment to deliver these contracts; the Bursa-Istanbul-Ankara-Konya-Eskişehir defense corridor will see direct capital inflows. Third, geopolitical positioning: Algeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, UAE and other Global South buyers feature prominently — Türkiye's NATO + strategic partnership combination offers buyers dual-source supply flexibility. This trajectory positions Türkiye to enter top-5 global arms exporters in the 2027 SIPRI report.
Key Takeaways:
1. Turkish companies signed approximately $8 billion in export contracts during the first 3 days of SAHA 2026; the figure was announced by Haluk Bayraktar and shared by Mehmet Şimşek.
2. SAHA Istanbul, with 1,500+ member firms, is Türkiye's largest defense-aerospace-space industrial cluster — including Baykar, Aselsan, TUSAŞ, Roketsan, MKE, HAVELSAN.
3. Contracts span UAV/armed UAV, radar, electronic warfare, missile, satellite components and military software; April set a $962M monthly defense export record.
4. 70-75% of member firms are SMEs; the KOSGEB TRY 30 billion defense support package and Eximbank export financing are critical to delivering these contracts.
5. Algeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and UAE are prominent Global South buyers; Türkiye is moving toward top-5 in the 2027 SIPRI global arms-exporter rankings.
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