Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Monday that Turkey is making production plans to increase its medium and long-range missile stockpiles to a “deterrent level,” citing regional instability and rising military threats.
The statement came after a nearly three-hour Cabinet meeting at the presidential complex in Ankara, where Erdoğan outlined the government’s latest defense strategy as Israel and Iran remain locked in a direct military confrontation.
Orta ve uzun menzilli füze stoklarımızı son gelişmeler ışığında caydırıcılık düzeyine getirecek üretim planlamalarını yapıyoruz.
İnşallah çok uzun olmayan bir süreçte hiç ama hiç kimsenin bize efelenmeyi dahi göze alamayacağı bir savunma kapasitesine erişmiş olacağız. pic.twitter.com/TItQfMjJvw
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) June 16, 2025
“We are making production plans to bring our medium and long-range missile stockpiles to a deterrent level in light of the recent developments,” Erdoğan said.
The conflict between Israel and Iran, now in its fifth day, has seen missile and drone strikes exchanged across borders. Israel’s military campaign, known as Operation Rising Lion, has reportedly killed top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists, while Iran’s retaliation has struck Israeli cities, killing civilians and damaging critical infrastructure. Iran claims to have killed combatants and that Israel of hiding the number of military casualties.
Erdoğan said Turkey’s military posture must adapt to the realities of a rapidly shifting security environment.
The Turkish defense industry, once heavily dependent on imports, has seen a major push under Erdoğan’s two-decade rule to develop domestic capabilities. He reiterated claims that when his party came to power in 2002, the country lacked any meaningful capacity in missile and air-defense systems.
Erdoğan credited his government with transforming Turkey into a nation capable of designing and manufacturing its own weapons, including unmanned aerial vehicles, radars, communication systems and most notably, the KAAN stealth fighter jet. He portrayed this shift as a hard-won national achievement in the face of both external restrictions and internal resistance.
In recent years Turkey has introduced several key missile systems. These include the Hisar air-defense family and the SİPER long-range air-defense system, now entering active service. Turkey also operates the Bora tactical ballistic missile and is developing the Cenk medium-range ballistic missile, reportedly with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers. Other domestically produced systems, such as the Atmaca and SOM cruise missiles, extend Turkey’s strike capabilities from land, sea and air platforms.
Defense officials have also spoken of building a layered missile shield dubbed the “Steel Dome,” intended to provide domestic protection akin to Israel’s Iron Dome.
Erdoğan said Turkey is now able to produce these systems in quantities that match strategic needs and enhance deterrence. He framed this development as a key component of the so-called “Century of Turkey” vision, a nationalist agenda that seeks to elevate the country’s role as a regional power.
While Erdoğan praised his government’s defense milestones, his speech also included sharp criticism of unnamed domestic opponents whom he accused of undermining national efforts through bureaucracy, media commentary and academic skepticism. He frequently labels such critics as being aligned with “imperialist” interests, a rhetorical pattern that has drawn concern from opposition figures and rights groups over the suppression of dissenting voices.
Turkey, a NATO member that often charts an independent course in foreign policy, has positioned itself as a potential mediator between Israel and Iran. Erdoğan has held back-to-back phone calls with leaders from Iran, Russia, the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others, calling for restraint while also asserting Turkey’s role as a regional power that cannot remain passive.
Analysts say Ankara’s dual approach — diplomatic engagement alongside rapid military buildup — is intended both to deter threats and to assert influence in a volatile regional order.
While Erdoğan’s assertion that Turkey’s deterrent capacity will soon reach a point “no one will dare to challenge” may resonate with his domestic political base, defense experts say key questions remain about Turkey’s ability to maintain mass production of advanced systems under existing economic constraints and ongoing tensions with Western suppliers.