Ankara, Apr 24 (IANS): Turkey has reduced its foreign dependency in the defence industry from around 80 per cent to some 20 per cent in the past two decades, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
"The number of the defence projects, which was merely 62 in 2002, has today surpassed 750," Erdogan said at the delivery ceremony of new Altay tanks to the Turkish Armed Forces for tests in the northwestern Sakarya province, Xinhua news agency reported.
Turkey has set a goal of an "independent defence industry", he said.
The country's budget for defence projects was $5.5 billion in 2002, now it has reached $75 billion, including the ones in the bidding process, the Turkish President explained.
BMC Defense delivered the main battle tank Altay for tests, which are expected to be completed in 2024.