Prof. Dr. Hakan Karataş, Deputy Head of the Presidency of Defense Industries, came to the fore with his answer to the question: “While the world is in a race regarding nuclear armament, what is Turkey’s situation and how should it be?”
Prof. Dr. Hakan Karataş, Deputy Head of the Presidency of Defense Industries, answering the question of whether Turkey is ready for a war in which nuclear weapons would be used, said, “We are as ready as necessary, when necessary.”
Answering the question, “While the world is in a race regarding nuclear armament, what is Turkey’s situation and how should it be?”, Karataş said, “We are as ready as necessary,” and then used the expression, “Sometimes, not saying something means saying a lot. Hopefully, the world will not need such a thing. Nuclear technology can also solve problems, but on the condition that it is not used in war…”
Karataş, pointing out that the benefit of science and technology to humanity changes according to the mindset of the person, stated: “If the human mind is dark, that technology becomes a disaster. If not, that technology becomes a remedy for humanity. That is, the scholar is human, and the tyrant is also human. What matters is having the human values to use that technology. Everyone has reason, but conscience is not granted to everyone. Thankfully, the Turkish people are conscientious.”
Prof. Dr. Hakan Karataş, who participated in the program ‘Head to Head with Youth’ broadcast on Vav TV and answered questions from young people closely following the defense industry, said, in summary, the following:
“Most of the time, we say less than what we do, and sometimes it’s necessary not to speak. You must not show your hand. We also try to give closed answers to questions. Do not give credence to incorrect information. How many countries in the world have a localization rate above 80 percent?
We are sufficiently local and national for our independence and our future. We will do even better things. Turkey no longer has a problem of localization. It seems that within 3-5 years, we won’t need it at all anyway.
The Turkish industry is also very strong. Rest assured. One of Turkey’s greatest advantages is that the Turkish defense industry’s capability inventory is very strong. This architecture did not form easily.
Currently, one of the most fundamental issues in the defense industry is increasing capacity, speeding up, producing cost-effective products, and delivering on time. All of these already require innovative approaches. There are very few countries in the world like us in adapting to innovation.”
WE DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM LIKE THE F-35, WE FOCUSED ON KAAN, REST ASSURED
“We react very quickly. We are trying to build a platform in 10-15 years that takes 30-40 years elsewhere in the world. We inevitably need a different way of working. Our companies are very adept at this; we have no problem; rest assured.
If God wills, after 2028, we will start delivering our KAAN aircraft to our Air Force. KAAN is a fifth-generation aircraft. We are talking about a platform that Turkish engineers work around like bees. KAAN is our pride. You will see it fly in the near future. After 2028, we will start delivering our KAAN aircraft first to our army, and then to friendly and allied countries.
(Regarding the question of when the paid-for F-35s will be sent from the USA) The Turkish defense industry does not have a problem called F-35. Thank God we have KAAN. Rest assured, our KAAN is coming very soon. Let them watch us. (F-35) is not on our agenda.
Perhaps over 1000 companies will work on KAAN. As the Presidency of Defense Industries and TUSAŞ, we do not have a problem like the F-35. Our focus is KAAN. The F-35 is not our problem, it’s someone else’s problem…”
THE SERIAL PRODUCTION PERIOD HAS BEGUN, A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY IS OPEN FOR TECHNICIANS
“We have developed all systems and platforms. Our platforms like ANKA-3, KIZILELMA, HÜRKUŞ, HÜRJET, KAAN will gradually enter the inventory from this year onwards. In other words, a defense industry that conducts R&D is transitioning to serial production. This is growth. It is a critical period that needs to be controlled and industrialized…
We have no problem with this, we are trying to increase capacity. Our companies have perhaps grown even more in the last few years, in terms of number of personnel and capacity.
When doing something for the first time, you don’t pay much attention to its cost. Time is also not important; being able to do it first is important. But after you do it, if you are going to export it, you are competing with its counterparts in the world and need to be competitive. Then you have an effort to reduce the cost. You have different problems like reducing production time and increasing quality. The problem never ends; science is like that.
Currently, 45-46 percent of the 90,000 people working in the defense industry are technicians and operators. The ratio is almost half. But in this period when we are starting to mass-produce platforms, we believe that this rate will become 55 percent, 60 percent within 3 years. In other words, there will be many areas of work for technicians in the defense industry.”
Source: trhaber.com
