Five Turkish defense companies generated a combined $10.1 billion in arms revenues in 2024, an 11 percent increase from the previous year, according to a report released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The figure marks the highest number of Turkish firms ever included in SIPRI’s annual ranking of the world’s top 100 arms-producing and military services companies. State-owned Machinery and Chemical Industry (MKE) joined the list for the first time, ranking 93rd with $1.21 billion in arms revenue, up 17 percent from 2023.
Defense electronics giant ASELSAN recorded the largest revenue increase among Turkish companies. Its arms revenue rose 24 percent to $3.47 billion, placing it 47th globally. SIPRI said ASELSAN’s growth was driven by a 65 percent surge in exports, with arms sales accounting for 95 percent of the company’s total revenue.
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), the country’s main aircraft and helicopter producer, ranked 65th with $2.16 billion in arms revenue, an 11 percent year-on-year rise. Arms-related business made up 80 percent of TAI’s total revenue, according to the report.
Baykar, the manufacturer of the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), reported $1.9 billion in arms revenue and ranked 73rd. That represented a 12 percent decline from the previous year. SIPRI attributed the drop to a slowdown in orders following two years of exceptional demand linked to Ukraine in the early stages of its full-scale war with Russia. Around 95 percent of Baykar’s revenue came from exports.
Missile producer Roketsan ranked 87th with $1.39 billion in arms revenue, an increase of 13 percent. The company generated all of its revenue from arms sales.
MKE’s entry brings the number of Turkish firms in the Top 100 to five, alongside ASELSAN, TAI, Baykar and Roketsan. SIPRI noted that the expansion reflects Turkey’s broader push to build up its defense industry and increase exports of military equipment.
Overall, the report found that global arms revenues reached a record $679 billion in 2024, up 5.9 percent from 2023. SIPRI said it was the highest total ever recorded in its database.
“Last year global arms revenues reached the highest level ever recorded by SIPRI as producers capitalized on high demand,” said Lorenzo Scarazzato, a researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.
The Middle East posted its largest presence in the ranking to date, with nine companies making the Top 100 and generating a combined $31 billion in arms revenues. The three Israeli firms in the list increased their combined revenues by 16 percent to $16.2 billion, according to SIPRI.
Companies based in the United States continued to dominate the industry. The 39 US firms in the Top 100 accounted for nearly half of global arms revenues, with $334 billion in 2024, an increase of 3.8 percent from the previous year. SIPRI said delays and cost overruns remained a feature of several major US programs, including the F-35 fifth-generation fighter and the Columbia-class nuclear-powered submarine.
European arms producers recorded the sharpest regional growth. Their combined revenues rose 13 percent to $151 billion in 2024. The Czech company Czechoslovak Group posted the largest percentage increase of any firm in the Top 100, with a 193 percent rise in arms revenue. SIPRI linked the surge to the Czech Ammunition Initiative, which supplies artillery shells to Ukraine.
The two Russian companies in the ranking—state conglomerate Rostec and United Shipbuilding Corporation—grew their combined arms revenues by 23 percent to $31.2 billion. SIPRI said strong domestic demand offset declining exports, as Russia continued its war in Ukraine under international sanctions.
By contrast, Asia and Oceania was the only region to see an overall decline in arms revenues. Companies in the region recorded a combined $130 billion in 2024, down 1.2 percent from a year earlier. SIPRI attributed the drop largely to a 10 percent fall in revenues at Chinese firms, which it linked to corruption allegations and investigations that delayed or cancelled arms procurement contracts.
SIPRI’s Top 100 ranking is based on arms and military services revenues, covering sales to both domestic and foreign military customers. The institute said it expects demand to remain high in the near term as states continue to expand and modernize their armed forces in response to ongoing conflicts and rising geopolitical tensions.
