KAI Aerospace Museum [South Gyeongsang Province]
KAI Aerospace Museum [South Gyeongsang Province]

South Gyeongsang Province is recruiting companies for its "2026 Turkey Defense Export Mission" to help small and medium-sized defense firms in the province break into European and Middle Eastern markets.

The province announced Monday that it will dispatch the trade mission to Istanbul and Ankara from Nov. 2 to Nov. 6. Turkey is a strategic defense hub connecting Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, and has been emerging as a major defense market as the country aggressively pursues a state-led localization policy for its defense industry.

The mission was designed to give defense-sector small and medium-sized enterprises in the province — many of which struggle to open overseas sales channels on their own — opportunities to collaborate with local prime contractors and gain entry into global supply chains.

Turkey's defense industry is organized around state-owned prime contractors, making it difficult for domestic small and medium-sized enterprises with limited local networks to identify buyers and enter the market. In response, South Gyeongsang Province plans to work with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and military attaché offices at overseas diplomatic missions to lower market-entry barriers for provincial firms.

The province said it will leverage inter-agency networks to help participating companies discuss technology cooperation and new projects with local prime contractors, and to facilitate follow-on negotiations. The mission will build a foundation for overseas market entry through one-on-one export consultations with local buyers and visits to major defense institutions.

Eight defense-sector small and medium-sized enterprises headquartered or operating factories in South Gyeongsang Province are eligible to apply. Selected companies will receive full coverage of venue rental and setup costs, 50 percent of interpretation fees, and one-way airfare for one representative per company — totaling 70 million won ($47,200) in overseas marketing support.

Companies wishing to participate may apply online through the South Gyeongsang Province Overseas Marketing Project Support System by July 31.

Baek Hyeon-jong, a senior researcher at the defense division of Gyeongnam Technopark, said Turkey is "a strategic base for entering the European and Middle Eastern defense markets and global supply chains," adding that the province would "serve as a bridge so that outstanding defense small and medium-sized enterprises in the province can achieve tangible results in the global market."


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