Türkiye and Azerbaijan signed a package of defense contracts worth more than $500 million at the Azerbaijan International Defense Exhibition (ADEX 2026) in Baku, Haluk Görgün, head of Türkiye's Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), announced on Sept. 30.
Azerbaijan's Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov attended the signing ceremony, which brought together several of Türkiye's leading defense manufacturers.
Hürkuş-II leads the package
The centerpiece of the agreements is the sale of 14 Hürkuş-II trainer aircraft built by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). Görgün said the aircraft would be delivered "very quickly this year."
Other procurement contracts were signed with drone maker Baykar for Mızrak smart loitering munitions and Antidot systems, and with Roketsan for the Barbaros Coastal Defense System. Aselsan signed a memorandum of understanding on ALP-100 radar systems.
Local production and industrial ties
Beyond direct sales, the two countries signed a series of agreements aimed at building industrial capacity in Azerbaijan. Aselsan and Azerbaijani company NOVASIS signed a preliminary agreement to set up a factory in Nakhchivan. NOVASIS also signed memoranda with Boğaziçi Defense on radio-frequency-based systems and with Kayı Defense on cooperation.
State-owned weapons maker MKE agreed a memorandum on strategic cooperation and business development with Miras, while Otokar concluded a logistics support contract with the same company.
On the education and research side, Türkiye's Council of Higher Education (YÖK) and the SSB signed an academic memorandum with Azerbaijan's defense industry and science and education ministries. Separately, MSTIM and the Defense Industry Academy signed an agreement covering research and development, training and university-industry cooperation.
Görgün framed the joint production steps as a way to deepen ties between the two allies, saying local manufacturing and shared projects would strengthen their "bonds of brotherhood."
The Baku deals add to a busy autumn for Turkish defense exporters. In the following days, Otokar disclosed a $1.47 billion wheeled armored vehicle export contract with an unnamed customer, and Aselsan reported a 488.5 million euro air defense export deal.
Sources
- Türkiye inks over $500M in defense contracts with Azerbaijan – Daily Sabah
- Turkish military vehicle maker Otokar signs $1.47 billion armored vehicle export deal – Hürriyet Daily News
Photo: Derrick Brutel / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
