Over $1 billion worth deals inked at SAHA Expo

ISTANBUL

More than $1 billion worth of deals were signed during the SAHA Expo defense and aerospace exhibition that was held between Oct 25 and 28 in Istanbul, according to Haluk Bayraktar, the board chairman of SAHA Istanbul Defense and Aerospace Cluster Association.

This year 567 local companies and 390 foreign firms from 57 countries took part in the event, Bayraktar said, adding that 268 official delegations and 112 commercial delegations also attended the fair.

“A total of 114 deals in defense, aviation and aerospace fields were signed during SAHA Expo. More than 60 percent of those agreements were for export. Hundreds of business meetings were held. The SAHA Expo had an important economic impact,” he added.

Dozens of domestically developed products and technologies, including unmanned ground vehicles and unmanned underwater vehicles, were showcased for the first time during the fair, Bayraktar noted, adding that Türkiye’s game-changing technologies in the defense industry were discussed at nine panels.

“Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah and U.K. Defense Minister Ben Wallace, who underlined Türkiye’s rising power in the defense sector, visited the SAHA Expo,” he said, noting that among attendees were 11 ministers and 47 high-level bureaucrats.

When the fair was first launched three years ago, it was held in an area of 10,000 square meters, but this year it took place in an area of 60,000 square meters, according to Bayraktar.

Next year the event will be held on an area of 80,000 square meters, he added.

In the first three days of the fair, 40,000 industry professionals attended the defense expo and another 40,000 people visited the fair.

Meanwhile, Türkiye’s leading drone maker Baykar has delivered the first batch of Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles to Poland, Selçuk Bayraktar, chief executive of the company, said on the sidelines of the SAHA Expo.

“Türkiye is leaving its mark on the world with unmanned aerial vehicles. Our country is one of the top three in the world in this field,” he said.