Turkiye's leading defence firms participated in three defence exhibitions in Egypt, Poland, and Jordan in a week, with a concentrated schedule for marketing.
Turkiye's simultaneous participation in the three foreign exhibitions hasn't been without the harvest. The exhibitions with overlapping schedules in the first week of September were Egypt International Airshow, MSPO 2024, and SOFEX 2024.
The Egypt International Airshow was an important scene for TUSAŞ with a demo flight of Hürjet advanced trainer/light attack aircraft and a comprehensive booth including the KAAN fighter, UCAVs, and helicopters. Egypt has shown interest in Hürjet during a visit earlier in 2024, and the demonstration flight in Egypt shows that the interest has taken another step forward. Anadolu Agency News reported that Egyptian Air Force Pilot Ahmed Elmallah was present alongside TUSAŞ's Test Pilot, Orhan Boran, on the co-pilot seat. This not only offered a view of Hürjet's handling to the officials from the outside but also one to an Egyptian Air Force pilot from the inside.
While a demonstration for high-ranking officials is important, a pilot having a chance to experience the flight inside the cockpit can erase more question marks when making an offer. ASELSAN has also exhibited its newer products, including Steel Dome (Çelik Kubbe) Integrated Air Defence System, KGK-84 guidance kit, and TOYGUN-100 EOTS for unmanned combat aircraft. In Poland's MSPO 2024 exhibition, ASELSAN and ROKETSAN presented their products.
ASELSAN's new products in the booth include the KORAL NG electronic warfare system, KGK-84 winged guidance kit for 2000 lb Mk84 bombs and TOYGUN-100 EOTS, a smaller version of the TOYGUN-200 for KAAN fighter, meant for unmanned combat aircraft. Marlin USV, in which Poland has shown interest, was present with a scaled model. ROKETSAN joined the exhibition with the new members of its MAM family of smart munitions, MAM-L IIR and MAM-T IIR.
Compared to laser+GPS-guided baseline MAM variants, the new variants feature IIR seekers with man-in-the-loop capability and a longer range (25+ km for MAM-L IIR and 50+ km for MAM-T IIR). With Poland already a customer of MAM-L through Bayraktar TB2, a variant with a more sophisticated seeker and longer range could be on the table. In Jordan's SOFEX 2024, MKE and SDT made important contacts with the Jordanian authorities. According to SavunmaTR, MKE has discussed the production of HAR-66 disposable rocket launchers in both Anti-Personnel and Anti-Tank variants.
The discussion includes the sale of 2000 units and local/joint production of 30000 units in total, with an assembly line to be set up in Jordan. The following talks will be held after demonstrations scheduled for this year.
SDT has signed an agreement with the Jordanian Design and Development Bureau for joint projects like ACMI training pods, jammers, and satellite control stations. The firm also expects soon to broaden its reach in the North African region.
