President Erdoğan warns of AI‑driven warfare and touts defence export surge at MSU graduation

Erdoğan Milli Savunma University AI warfare defence exports local content

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the graduation of 301 officers at Turkey’s Milli Savunma University (MSU), marking the 10th anniversary of the institution. He highlighted the attendance of 125 guest officers from 26 friendly nations and praised the university’s rise to a globally recognised training centre.

Erdoğan warned that “wars are no longer fought only on the battlefield,” citing cyber‑attacks, disinformation campaigns, kamikaze drones and artificial‑intelligence‑based weaponry as new threats. He emphasised the need to keep Turkey’s “inner core” strong and to safeguard national security.

The president also announced defence‑industry achievements: a record $803 million in monthly exports, over $11 billion in defence and aerospace sales in the past year, and a local‑content rate of 82 percent. He linked these successes to the capabilities of the newly trained officers and Turkey’s role in hosting the NATO Leaders’ Summit in Ankara.