Agnes Helou

Experts told Breaking Defense that the surge in spending is spurred by Ankara’s focus on boosting its air and missile defense capabilities as well as local defense production.

"The first deployment of STM NETA 300 will be for mine detection and destruction missions," STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz said, though it's meant for a range of operations.

“We have collectively raised $800 million in humanitarian aid and $200 million for the security forces," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot

"The agreements signed by Emirati companies at Saha Istanbul are part of an ongoing trend of strengthening defense industrial ties ...," analyst Albert Vidal told Breaking Defense.

"Regardless of whether Harris or Trump wins this year’s presidential election, I don’t expect Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel at any point in the foreseeable future," said Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics, a US-based consulting firm.

Turkish firm Meteksan and ARES Shipyard recently agreed to a two-phase armed USV export to the Qatari Coast Guard, a senior Meteksan official told Breaking Defense.

"The pace and level of partnerships between EDGE and European original equipment manufacturers have significantly accelerated during the past four years," analyst Leonardo Jacopo Maria Mazzucco told Breaking Defense.

Turkey is currently facing a fighter gap as it waits for its planned 5th generation KAAN fighter to come online in 2030.

“The [MQ-25] platform will set a new standard for future unmanned operations from the sea,” said commander of the NAVCENT and Fifth Fleet Vice Adm. George Wikoff

"The configuration is based on six aircraft equipped with electro-optical cameras for reconnaissance, including the initial set of weapons, and ensures double radio coverage of the entire territory of Croatia in stationary and mobile version," Croatian Defense Minister Ivan Anusic said.