TURKEY’S EMERGING DEFENSE TECHNOLOGIES AND THE FUTURE OF NATO - Turkey’s experience and prowess in defense technologies, particularly in robotic warfare, can strengthen collective capabilities and enhance the Alliance’s strategic edge with an eye to current and future threats. Through our event, we aim to discuss how NATO can leverage and enhance cooperation in this critical component in modern warfare and launch an Atlantic Council issue brief on the topic, authored by Can Kasapoglu and Sine Ozkarasahin.

Through the incorporation of emerging defense technologies (EDTs) and increasing digitalization of the battlefield, Russia’s war on Ukraine has provided important lessons for the future of warfare. Unmanned systems, in particular, have played a pronounced role on both sides. One lesson is clear; that successful development and adoption of EDTs is increasingly becoming key to triumph on the modern battlefield. For NATO to succeed in this environment, it needs to capitalize on the assets of its members and engender intra-Alliance cooperation in this critical field.

Turkey has been one of the leading pioneers in drone warfare technology and doctrine with demonstrable success in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in battlefields across the region including Syria, Libya, the South Caucasus, and Ukraine’s initial defense to Russia’s invasion. In addition to UAVs, Turkey has a long running unmanned surface vehicle (USV) program, through which it has participated in NATO exercises, an expanding unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) program and is developing cross-domain concepts to integrate the varied robotic industries into its military.

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 07/09/2024