ISTANBUL
Revenues generated from the defense, aviation and space expo SAHA 2026 will be used to establish drone production and training centers across Türkiye, officials said ahead of the event scheduled for May 5-9 at the Istanbul Fair Center.
Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of Turkish defense firm Baykar, said at an informational meeting on Saturday that the expo, being held for the fifth time, will host more than 1,700 companies, including 260 from abroad.
“When we held the first event in 2018, there were only 170 participating firms,” he said. “This year, we’re expecting over 200,000 visitors at the event, a 20-fold increase versus the 10,000 visitor count of the first SAHA event.”
Speaking at the meeting attended by the SAHA Istanbul board of directors, defense industry leaders and members of the press, Bayraktar said the 27-member SAHA Istanbul has grown into Europe’s largest industrial cluster with more than 1,300 members, representing a strong ecosystem.
“The SAHA framework oversaw export deals worth $6.2 billion in total in 2024 and this year we aim for $8 billion,” he said. “When we launched SAHA Istanbul, there were only 17 firms in Turkish defense in the early 2000s, but now the number of defense firms affiliated with SAHA Istanbul has reached over 1,300 — the total number of firms related to the defense industry, on the other hand, is over 3,000.”
Bayraktar said drone production and training centers will be established in all 81 provinces of Türkiye, with the largest one located in Istanbul. He said the centers will be open to the public and designed to encourage young people to train, produce, test drones and become part of the broader ecosystem.
“We’ll use the revenues from the SAHA expo to establish these centers, which will help us instantly achieve the production capacity of millions of drones nationwide at any given moment,” he said.
Bayraktar also said the acquisition of a 140-year-old aircraft manufacturer by a Turkish company had been positively received around the world.
He said that there have been major developments regarding the Bayraktar TB3 association, adding that while there may not be a signing related to those developments at SAHA 2026, there would be some surprises.
Murat Ikinci, vice chair of the SAHA Istanbul board and CEO of Roketsan, said Türkiye has an unmatched ecosystem made up of thousands of companies and that the Turkish defense industry represents “the most dynamic supply chain.”
“We view Europe as a place of potential for collaborations, rather than competition,” he said.
Ahmet Akyol, CEO of Aselsan and vice chair of the SAHA Istanbul board, said the company would present new strike capabilities involving naval and air platforms during the event.
Ilhami Keles, CEO of defense firm MKE and vice chair of the SAHA Istanbul board, said sustainability had become critically important in the sector, stressing the growing need to shift the balance toward products that can be produced more simply and rapidly while remaining effective.
Mahmut Faruk Aksit, general manager of Turkish Aerospace Industries subsidiary TAI Engine Industry Inc. (TEI), said the technology race is ongoing and that his company must stay ahead of competitors as Baykar has done, adding that TEI is working to achieve this in engines and other technologies.
*Writing by Emir Yildirim
