Türkiye launched a new era of its National Technology Initiative by restructuring its industrial governance to place artificial intelligence at the heart of national defence. Under a series of decrees published in the Official Gazette, the Ministry of Industry and Technology has rebranded and expanded its primary tech unit into the National Technology and Artificial Intelligence General Directorate. This new body is tasked with centralizing AI policy, developing a sovereign national cloud, and establishing a “Public Data Space” to ensure sensitive data remains within Turkish borders while fueling indigenous model development.
This institutional reset coincides with a massive expansion of the “Steel Dome” integrated air defense project, which recently saw the signing of $6.5 billion in contracts with domestic defense giants Aselsan and Roketsan.
The 2026 Presidential Annual Program explicitly reclassifies AI as a “breakthrough technology” that will drive the country toward technological self-sufficiency. The government has committed to nine major AI-driven research projects and a “dual-use” roadmap designed to adapt military innovations for civilian sectors like agriculture and health.
Supported by a $3 billion partnership between Turkcell and Google Cloud to build the region’s first hyperscale hub, Türkiye aims to reach an 83% domestic content rate in its defence industry and hit $8 billion in exports by the end of next year.
