Turkey's defense industry has had a 21 percent growth rate for the last five years and received $11 billion in orders in 2014.

The state-run news agency Anadolu , quoting a report from the Defense Industry Manufactures Association, said many industry orders have come from the Turkish military.

"The lion's share in the sector growth comes from domestic projects, but domestic projects should not be expected to continue increasing," said Nail Kurt, the chairman of the Turkish Defense Industries Exporters' Association. "Export and international cooperation projects will therefore determine the sector's future growth."

A major order in 2014 -- worth $6.9 billion -- was for aircraft parts. The Turkish defense aviation industry is involved in a number of major international joint design and production programs, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and A400M Large Transport Aircraft.

Another $2.6 billion order was received for tracked and wheeled armored vehicles.

The industry report said overall revenue last year was more than $5.1 billion, an increase from $5.07 billion in 2013. The industry's export capacity was nearly $1.9 billion last year, up from $1.6 billion in the previous year. The defense industry also imported over $1 billion in technology products from abroad, Anadolu Agency said.

"Turkey aims to have defense companies among the top 100 major companies in the world, and to create at least three global brands in the defense sector," the news report said. "Ankara spent over $1 billion on defense, research and development in 2014, making defense the sector with the largest research and development investment in the country"

Czechs approve acquisition of Pandur II armored vehicles
Prague, Czech Republic (UPI) Aug 21, 2015 - The Czech government has approved the implementation of an agreement for acquisition of 20 Pandur II 8x8 armored vehicles.

The estimated cost of the agreement with Excalibur Army spol., which makes the Pandur in the Czech Republic under license from Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeuge, part of General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems, is about $52.5 million.

The contract would be for 20 8x8 vehicles, six of them in a command-staff configuration, as well as logistics support and training services.

Defense Minister Martin Stropnicky said acquisition of the vehicles "is one of the key priorities" in enhancing the capabilities the headquarters and battalions of the country's 4th Rapid Deployment Brigade.

"The acquisition and the introduction of command-staff and connecting wheeled armored vehicles will significantly enhance the ability of the Army of the Czech Republic," he said.

A contract for the vehicles was originally signed in 2006 and re-signed in 2009, but its implementation was delayed. The deal will now be implemented by the end of this year, The Ministry of Defense said.