Fifty years ago this Saturday, Turkish forces entered northern Cyprus to head off an Athens-backed coup on the island. The US and a few of its western allies soon blocked arms sales to Turkey, seeking to curb Turkey’s actions.
The embargoes backfired over the long run, setting Ankara on a path to developing one of the world’s more robust defence industries. Unable to acquire the weapons and equipment needed to defend itself despite being a key Nato member, Turkey vowed to become self-sufficient and embraced domestic development.
The US lifted its ban in 1978, but Turkey’s efforts accelerated in the 1980s due to a military coup and insurgency from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the country’s south-east. Domestic Turkish defence startups were encouraged to link up with foreign firms to gain know-how, financing and technology transfer.
In 1983, Ankara signed a deal with two American firms to co-produce US F-16 fighter jets in Turkey – an early major boost to Turkish prestige. The 1987 creation of the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation financed the development of the core of Turkey’s defence industry, Aselsan, Havelsan, Tusas, Aspilsan and Roketsan.
Turkey, which had been founded by a revered military leader, began to emerge as a defence and industrial manufacturer earlier than most other states on a similar development timeline. Despite a slowdown in the 1990s, thanks to new arms embargoes from Switzerland, Norway and Germany, and a partial US embargo, by the time the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, Turkey was poised for a major leap.
Led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is now President, the AKP called for an era of “indigenous solutions” and significantly increased research and development during a period of economic growth. From 2007 to 2017, Ankara’s R&D defence spending tripled to $1.2 billion.
Turkey’s defence exports have nearly tripled over the past decade, from $1.9 billion in 2014 to $5.5 billion last year
The results have been plain to see: the Altay main battle tank in 2008; the country’s first attack helicopter, the T129, in 2014; an array of new missiles, torpedoes and sensory equipment; the Barbaros frigate in 2018. The list goes on and on, with the biggest solution of all being the Bayraktar TB-2 drone, released by Baykar in 2011.
Turkey used the drone successfully against Kurdish militants in Syria and Iraq in 2018. The next year the TB-2 made an impact in Libya’s civil war. In 2020, Azerbaijan used it to defeat Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. In 2021, after signing a deal to produce TB-2s domestically, Ukraine’s military began using the drone against Russian forces.
Turkey’s top unmanned assault vehicle has since gained considerable international prestige, taking its defence industry along for the ride. The Bayraktar now has near-mythic status in Ukraine, where a police dog, a lemur in Kyiv, a crepe in Lviv and a catchy war song have been given its name. More than 30 countries have bought TB-2s, which has been praised by global heavyweights like political scientist Francis Fukuyama and called the “drone that changed the nature of warfare” by The New Yorker.
Yet Ankara has gone right on releasing new indigenous solutions. These include the country’s first amphibious assault ship and unmanned fighter jet, the Red Apple, a new wave of naval corvettes and frigates, and a series of higher-flying drones. In February, Turkey successfully tested its advanced fighter jet, the Kaan, joining the US, Russia and China as the only states to fly domestically designed 5th-generation aircraft.
Turkey has fallen a little short of its goal of total self-sufficiency, as most of its defence products, including the Kaan, have been based on foreign models or designed and produced with considerable foreign assistance. Top Turkish firms remain reliant on outside components and expertise, importing from Ukraine, South Korea, Russia, the US, the UK and beyond.
Yet Nato’s second-largest military now has the domestic backing to stand tall, with its defence industry accruing considerable respect at home and abroad. Turkey’s defence exports have nearly tripled over the past decade, from $1.9 billion in 2014 to $5.5 billion last year. The world’s 19th-largest economy now ranks just outside the top 10 global defence exporters, coming in at number 11.
Selcuk Bayraktar, creator of the TB-2 and the President’s son-in-law, has become a domestic hero and is widely seen as a leading candidate to succeed Mr Erdogan. It was a Bayraktar Akinci drone that found recently deceased Iranian president Ibrahim Raisi’s downed helicopter in the Iranian mountains in May, after which the drone operator proudly traced the shape of the Turkish flag. And despite Turkey’s close co-operation with non-western actors like Russia (the purchase of S-400 missile systems in 2019) and China (new plans for a $1 billion automotive plant), a robust and confident Turkish defence industry strengthens the western defence architecture.
That is not only because Turkey is a Nato member, but also because Turkish defence manufacturing developed largely within the western industrial defence ecosystem. Two cases in point: in March, with Ukraine facing battlefield shortages, the US turned to Turkey to boost ammunitions supplies; and just last month Turkey joined the Russia-facing, German-led European Sky Shield Initiative, prompting military observers to suggest Turkish missile defence platforms may soon be strengthening Europe’s defence infrastructure.
As for Cyprus, despite countless rounds of talks over the past half-century, the island remains tensely divided between the EU-member Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recognised only by Ankara. As Turkish, Cypriot and Greek leaders gather on the island this weekend to mark 50 years since the division, some will surely express hope for a resolution in the years to come.
It's probably unwelcome news for southern Cypriots, but Turkey is undeniably better placed today than in 1974 to defend its interests and positions in Cyprus. This helps explain why Ankara has in recent years shifted away from the the island's probable resolution, reunification within a bizonal federation, and begun advocating for two separate states.
Whether or not it is a wise move, time will tell. But there's little question it can be traced back to the initial western response to Turkey’s arrival on the island.
The UAE's journey to space
TEAMS
EUROPE:
Justin Rose, Francesco Molinari, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Alex Noren, Thorbjorn Olesen, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson
USA:
Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau ( 1 TBC)
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Company%20Profile
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The specs: 2019 Audi A7 Sportback
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 335hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy 5.9L / 100km
Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
- Don’t eat dessert every day
- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
- Always go for natural whole foods over processed, packaged foods. Ask yourself would your grandmother have eaten it?
- Read food labels if you really do feel the need to buy processed food
- Eat everything in moderation
SCORES IN BRIEF
New Zealand 153 and 56 for 1 in 22.4 overs at close
Pakistan 227
(Babar 62, Asad 43, Boult 4-54, De Grandhomme 2-30, Patel 2-64)
Scoreline
Ireland 16 (Tries: Stockdale Cons: Sexton Pens: Sexton 3)
New Zealand 9 (Pens: Barrett 2 Drop Goal: Barrett)
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Match info
Bournemouth 1 (King 45 1')
Arsenal 2 (Lerma 30' og, Aubameyang 67')
Man of the Match: Sead Kolasinac (Arsenal)
The biog
Favourite book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Favourite holiday destination: Spain
Favourite film: Bohemian Rhapsody
Favourite place to visit in the UAE: The beach or Satwa
Children: Stepdaughter Tyler 27, daughter Quito 22 and son Dali 19
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (PA) Group 1 | US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) Listed | $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) Conditions | $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (D) | 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
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UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023
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Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
ASIAN%20RUGBY%20CHAMPIONSHIP%202024
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
