The SIPRI Trend Indicator Value (TIV) is a metric used to measure the volume of international transfers of major conventional weapons, reflecting the military capability and quantity of weapons transferred. It does not reflect the actual financial value of arms transfers. SIPRI TIV data for 2000–2025 indicate that the Gulf has remained a major market for conventional arms imports, with Saudi Arabia recording the highest cumulative import volume (40,237 million TIV), followed by the United Arab Emirates (25,560 million TIV) and Qatar (16,183 million TIV).[3] Although import levels have fluctuated over time, Gulf States have consistently relied heavily on external suppliers for major defence acquisitions.

Figure 1 demonstrates the growing regional orientation of Türkiye’s defence exports, with the United Arab Emirates (20.52 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (12.12 per cent) emerging as its largest export destinations. Together with exports to Qatar, Bahrain and Iraq, nearly half of Türkiye’s total arms exports are directed to West Asia, including the Gulf region.

Figure 1. Türkiye’s Arms Export Destinations and Shares (2000–2025)

Source: Adapted from “The Gulf’s Need for Arms in the Shadow of War and Türkiye’s Rising Defense Industry”, Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), 29 April 2026. Based on cumulative 2000–2025 data.

Türkiye’s Defence Exports to Individual GCC States

Türkiye’s defence engagement with the Gulf has expanded across all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, although the scope and depth of cooperation vary considerably. While the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have emerged as the principal destinations for Turkish defence exports, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait have also strengthened defence ties through selective acquisitions. Together, these partnerships illustrate the expanding geographical reach and growing strategic significance of Türkiye’s defence-industrial engagement across the Gulf.

Turkish defence exports to the UAE began with the delivery of 136 AIFV Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) in 2000, followed by 14 Cobra APCs in 2005. Defence cooperation subsequently expanded to include artillery systems, including 48 T-122 multiple rocket launchers delivered in 2008, three T-300 multiple rocket launchers in 2010, and eight Canavar multiple rocket launchers in 2012, as well as 2,000 CIRIT air-to-surface missiles delivered in 2015. The partnership entered a new phase with the delivery of 193 Kirpi mine-resistant armoured vehicles in 2022 and 400 Rabdan infantry fighting vehicles (through a joint UAE–Türkiye co-development) in 2023. More recently, 20 Bayraktar TB2 armed drones were delivered in 2023 under a 2022 contract.[4] In addition, a further order for 60 Bayraktar TB2s in 2022 has yet to be delivered.

Türkiye–UAE defence-industrial cooperation has continued to deepen through expanded collaboration between Baykar and the UAE’s EDGE Group (a state-owned defence conglomerate). On 8 May 2026, the two companies signed agreements to integrate EDGE’s AL TARIQ family of precision-guided munitions with the Bayraktar AKINCI unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). They established a commercial framework to jointly market each other’s defence products in international markets.[5] These agreements build on their earlier collaboration to integrate the DESERT........

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