Turkey's defence industry turns out in force for FEINDEF 2025 in Madrid
- France and the United States follow Turkey in terms of numbers
- The British industry hopes for better opportunities
Turkey's defence and aerospace industry leads the international presence at FEINDEF 2025, which opens its doors today, 12 May, to Spain's allies and friends. Around thirty companies representing a broad business group are attending, providing a high degree of strategic autonomy to the Ankara Armed Forces, which consist of more than 210,000 military personnel.
The Turkish presence in Madrid is just one example of the extensive military industrial fabric and the growing development and production capacity of the sector in its land, naval, aerospace and electronic branches. It is also the result of the good reputation earned by its weapons systems, platforms and materials in operations, whose exports are being promoted by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
However, the main reason for the mass arrival at FEINDEF 2025 lies elsewhere. The Spanish Ministry of Defence, headed by Margarita Robles, has selected the Turkish single-engine Hürjet jet to replace the Northrop/CASA F-5M aircraft of the 23rd Wing of the Jet School in Talavera la Real (Badajoz), which, after more than 50 years of service, are still used to train Spanish fighter and attack pilots.
Airbus Spain and Turkish Aerospace, the main contractor for the Hürjet trainer for the Turkish Air Force, have reached an initial agreement to complete the final development of the trainer. This is a two-way transaction, in which Spain transfers to Turkey the six A400M transport aircraft it has purchased in excess from Airbus. The Madrid air show is therefore the venue where Turkish and Spanish authorities and executives will finalise the details of the respective contracts and industrial plans.
Grouped under the Turkish national pavilion, the companies exhibiting their products in Madrid have been brought together by the Turkish Ministry of Defence, which has been headed by General Yasar Güler since June 2023. The pavilion includes Roketsan, which specialises in missiles, guided munitions, rockets and weapon systems; Havelsan, which focuses on command, control, simulation, robotics and cybersecurity systems; Nurol Makina, which produces 4x4 armoured vehicles; Nero Industries, Yilmaz Makina... and around thirty others.
The fourth edition of the International Defence and Security Fair in Spain has begun amid great national and international expectation due to the global situation, the general increase in defence budgets and, of course, the high number of countries and exhibitors attending. They are distributed across four covered pavilions totalling 66,690 m², a space that ‘was sold out before the end of 2024’, according to the organisers, representing an increase of 67 per cent compared to the 40,000 m² of the 2023 edition.
France and the United States follow Turkey in terms of numbers
With a total of 600 participating companies and institutions, there are around 35 third countries present, with ‘187 international exhibitors’, according to the organisers, representing 30 per cent of the total. These figures are higher than those for 2023, when ‘around 500 exhibitors from 25 countries’ attended, according to a statement issued two years ago by the Ministry of Defence.
The French defence industry is the second largest at FEINDEF. Due to its great importance at European and global level, around 30 French companies have attended the event, particularly in the land, electronic and logistics fields, such as Hutchinson Defense, a manufacturer of wheels and special vehicles; Exail, which specialises in navigation, positioning and robotics; and Renault Trucks Emergency & Defense.
After Ankara and Paris, the third largest country in terms of number of companies is the United States. It is represented by a dozen companies, including the large industrial corporation Lockheed Martin, Bombardier Defense and General Atomics, all three with significant interests in the Spanish naval and aeronautical sectors.
Italy, Portugal and Germany are represented by a dozen companies. The industrial consortium Eurofighter GmbH, which is leading improvements in the production and support of the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet, is attending for the first time. Based near Munich, it is a partnership between Airbus Defence and Space, the British company BAE Systems and the Italian company Leonardo.
Also present under the Berlin umbrella is Rheinmetall, the powerful company that in August 2023 completed the purchase of the Spanish company Expal, which specialises in the production of ammunition and explosives and their demilitarisation. Italy is represented by the large corporation Leonardo and Iveco. Soliani, which has been present at every edition of FEINDEF since the beginning, is showcasing its light armour and shielding to prevent radio and electromagnetic leaks and unwanted eavesdropping.
The Portuguese defence industry has also responded to the call with more than a dozen companies, including EEA Aircraft, Tecno Lanema and Optimal Group, which specialises in ballistic protection systems. The Czech Republic has had a significant presence since FEINDEF 2019, with a national pavilion hosting eight companies from its defence sector.
The British industry hopes for better opportunities
Countries such as Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden are attending with less than half a dozen of their industries, but the most important ones are there: Belgium's FN, Finland's Patria, Norway's Kongsberg and Sweden's Saab. This group also includes the United Arab Emirates, whose companies include Edge, the state-owned industrial group that drives defence and security activities in the Gulf country.
The lack of interest in FEINDEF 2025 among companies in the United Kingdom, one of the five nations with the largest military industrial sector in the world, is striking. Brexit has led ADS, the British defence, aerospace and security business group, to focus its efforts on those areas of the world where it has identified greater opportunities, which does not appear to be the case in Spain
With exports in 2023 amounting to 45.88 billion euros (38.8 billion pounds sterling), London views Spain as a ‘marginal defence and security market’, according to a source with extensive knowledge of Spanish-British bilateral relations. This is one of the main reasons why only five companies have attended the Spanish exhibition, including NMS UK, the British subsidiary of Turkey's Nurol Makina.
In the current international context, in which investment in weapons systems and dual-use technologies has increased significantly, it is expected that the next UK-EU summit will see the signing of an agreement allowing British industry limited access to certain European defence programmes.
The absence of Brazilian industry from FEINDEF 2025 is somewhat offset by Ukraine, which is represented by two companies. One is Praktica, which specialises in the manufacture of combat vehicles and wheeled armoured personnel carriers. The other is Sich, which produces patented tourniquets for the emergency treatment of severe bleeding in the extremities.
Of course, there are countries that are represented by a single company, such as Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania and Switzerland in Europe. This is also the case for Chile and Peru in the Americas and India, Japan and Taiwan in Asia.
