Turkey boosts arms exports by 43 percent

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

A mock-up of Altay, Turkey’s first national tank project, is seen above.

Turkish defense companies increased their exports to a strong $1.3 billion dollars last year, a 43 percent increase over 2011, according to new figures. 

Most of the exported products were spare parts for airplanes and helicopters, turbojets and armored war vehicles. 

The United States topped the list of buyers by purchasing a massive $490 million worth of defense exports from Turkey over the year. The United Arab Emirates followed the U.S. at $101 million, while Saudi Arabia came third with $99 million in purchases. 

Other countries on the export list included Russia, Britain, Italy, Germany, France and Iraq, which saw the greatest rise in Turkey’s buyers abroad.