FNSS Savunma Sistemleri A.Ş. which entered the top 100 in the list of the world's largest defence companies, was the guest of Bloomberg TV. Nail Kurt, General Manager and CEO of FNSS, explained the work of FNSS and the future of the defence industry.
Noting that FNSS was established 30 years ago with the partnership of Nurol Holding and BAE Systems USA to meet the needs of the Land Forces Command, Kurt said that FNSS was the first private company established in the field of the defence industry, and this was possible with the establishment of the Defence Industry Presidency with a change of understanding at that time. He stated that he was. Noting that they started the production of Armoured Combat vehicles that day with the tender they won, Kurt stated that today 7 projects are continuing for the Turkish Armed Forces. He stated that the ZAHA vehicle, which will carry the marines from the LHD ship to the shore like a ship and continue to fight there, has successfully passed an important test today. Kurt did not share information on the content of the test.
Stating that the needs in the land forces were met by procurement from abroad or maintenance methods in military factories 30 years ago, Kurt stated that 3 private companies and military factories continue to operate today:
TSK's needs in land systems are lined up. We are currently pursuing seven projects. All long-term original projects. There is preliminary work, delivery schedules are long, not short. 4 5-year projects each. If you think about the rest, there are great needs from the small 4X4 vehicle, whether wheeled or tracked, to the Main Battle Tank. When we look at the window of the 30 -40-year future, we believe that this work will never stop and the need will always increase.
We have exported. As FNSS, we are a company that exports a lot. Last year, nearly 50 per cent of our turnover was exported, but when we look at the previous 14 years, there is an export weight of 84 per cent in our sales on average. These are all original products. There is a myth in the defence industry. You cannot export it abroad if you do not sell it to your power. We have sold the Parsteker wired vehicle family to two countries for a total of over $ 1 billion.
Many different factors should be taken into account in export markets. Relations between countries and political relations are very important here because long-term good relations are necessary. Our platforms have an average life span of 30- 35 years. If additional maintenance is done, the life span extends to 40-45 years. It is necessary to be behind the vehicle during this time. For this reason, countries want to see that relations will be long-lasting.
With the change in technology, the need for land vehicles will not decrease but will change shape. The old regular army era is gone. We are faced with an enemy that is not well defined but seen through experience. For this reason, there will be irregular warfare. threats are also perceived accordingly. Your very valuable Main Battle Tank can be hit by a shoulder-launched anti-tank missile. For this reason, it is necessary to increase armour protection without making existing vehicles bulky. Advanced sensors should be provided for invisibility, manoeuvring by detecting the enemy. All this improves with technology. On the other hand, armour protection is provided in various layers. These consist of hardened armour, composite material, ceramic and several layers. It also has reactive armour protection. This layer on the armour explodes when the ammunition hits the vehicle and absorbs the incoming missile energy. There are active systems that see the incoming ammunition and act to stop them. ASELSAN is developing ROKETSAN. Our task is to integrate them into vehicles in the right way.
Handmade Explosive (IED) is coming up a lot. Current vehicles provide high protection against them. Some tools protect the vehicles that were formerly made with mine protection. The vehicles we will give to the special forces next year provide such high protection.
FNSS has 7 different projects. There are vehicles in the air defence system, the main contractor of FNSS is Gun Carrier Vehicle (STA), tracked, tactical wheeled and 4×4 vehicles. We received the Special Purpose Tactical Wheeled Armored Vehicle (ÖMTTZA) project. The project was signed this year. These are 6X6 and 8X8 vehicles.
