TURKEY and Saudi Arabia are brotherly countries and their relations are continuously developing as the two nations are linked by religion, history, traditions and habits. These important ties have made bilateral relations very distinguished and special. In recent years, greater emphasis has been given to regional problems, as well as to the improvement of bilateral relations in both political and economic fields. The two nations, which share the same geography, have extremely similar approaches to all regional issues. As two key and powerful regional allies, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are contributing at a maximum level to efforts toward attaining sustainable peace and stability in the region. The two governments are determined to further strengthen the relations to contribute to the peace and prosperity of their peoples. Turkey, which has pioneered national security throughout history, has made progress in its defense industry by developing its own resources, and by doing so has decreased dependency on foreign powers in this respect. While developing a self-sufficient defense industry, Turkey has so far realized hundreds of various projects. It considers technology acquirement and R&D activities to be the most crucial factors for a powerful defense industry with a competitive edge. In order to realize these aspirations, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) has formulated policies set forth in the 2012-2016 Strategic Plan. The most important strategic goal of the plan has been to restructure the defense industry to make it capable of providing local solutions and competing in the world defense market. Some of the most recent projects reflecting that vision are the Turkish National Main Battle Tank (ALTAY), the Tank Fire Control System and the Mobile Floating Assault Bridge for land platforms. Furthermore, as for the air platforms, efforts have mainly focused on investing on Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) and also gaining modernization and maintenance capabilities for the systems in the inventory of the Turkish Air Force. Some of the projects reflecting this vision are the Indigenous UAV — Medium Altitude Law Endurance (MALE) Operative — development project, the Tactical UAV systems, T-38 Aircraft Avionics Modernization and the C-130E/B Avionics Modernization. As for the naval platforms, the main perspective is to be able to perform the design and system integration of all naval ships in local shipyards, using indigenous capabilities. Latest projects handled in line with this vision are the Patrol and Anti-Submarine Warfare Ship (MILGEM-National Ship) and New Type Patrol Boats. Along with the efforts to attain a certain degree of capability in main platforms, SSM prepared an R&D roadmap that targeted new networks of excellence. For the local industry to design and produce indigenous defense products, cooperation between universities and the companies, especially with those having design centers, is essential. Therefore, establishing centers of excellence is of primary importance and a great deal of effort has been exerted so as to establish them. SSM has also taken substantial measures to increase the participation of small and medium size companies (SMEs) in defense projects. Regarding technology development, as set in the 2012-2016 strategic plan, SSM pursues a policy of developing defense industrial base through transfer of know-how based on innovative technologies. This is required to achieve the goal of having an indigenous state-of-the-art capability. Since defense systems are complex and expensive to design, the manufacturer and test countries are required to work as a team to balance the distribution of workload and cost. For that reason, Turkey seeks cooperation with its allies in a vast array of defense activities. For instance, Turkey is a partner in the Joint Strike Fighter and on the A400M European Military Transport Aircraft programs. In this framework, the country sought and obtained the transfer of a vast array of know-how. These capabilities will be applied in future programs for the procurement of important defense systems and platforms, such as the ALTAY MBT and ATAK helicopters programs. Security and defense are key elements of any country's foreign policy and international standing. The defense industry is also crucial to the health of technological development of a country and its economy. Today, the defense industry has emerged as a new and developing field of cooperation in Turkish-Saudi relations. Both governments are keen to explore existing and future opportunities in this field and develop industrial interaction to the maximum extent possible.
