to seduce voters, Recep Tayyip Erdogan relies on the military industry

Less than a month before the presidential election in Turkey, which promises to be particularly disputed, the economy is at half mast, the management of the earthquake is catastrophic, unemployment at its highest. President Erdogan approaches this election in a difficult context. To seduce voters, he touts Turkish tanks, drones, fighter planes and a Turkey which, thanks to him, can play in the big leagues and no longer has to fear its enemies.

If there is one area in which even his adversaries would not deny him certain success, it is the construction of a Turkish defense industry. It grossed over four billion dollars last year. No one is unaware of the performance of Bayraktar drones deployed in Ukraine. But Recep Tayyip Erdogan sees much bigger. He has just unveiled the brand new Turkish combat ship. “The TCG Anadolu is the first military ship in the world that can take off and land the heaviest and largest helicopters and drones”insists Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “We see this boat as a symbol that will make us a regional leader and a country that is heard on the world stage.”

High military technology for international influence

This juggernaut will allow Turkey to project itself into much more distant theaters of operations. Within weeks, Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented a supersonic combat drone, a stealth combat drone. He is about to boast the TFX, the new generation combat aircraft, the Altai battle tank. He put pressure on the industry to get everything wrapped up before the first round of elections. Recep Tayyip Erdogan thus flatters a very lively nationalist fiber, well beyond the ranks of his supporters.