“We see that Türkiye’s defence industry has grown over the last years. And we’ve seen that there are new technologies evolving in the field of drones, but also deep precision strikes. And so, we are exploring different possibilities,” Schmid said.
He named cooperation on long-range missiles as one of the potential areas, to help close gaps in Europe’s long-range missile capabilities.
“We are looking at different options for long-range missiles. And as (Defence) Minister Boris Pistorius said, of course, we are also looking at ideas coming from Türkiye,” Schmid said.
“The leading principle for us is to fill capability gaps as quickly as possible. And you may have different technological options available to fulfill some of the capability targets,” he said, referring to alternative projects European allies are discussing to address gaps left by the US drawdown of forces.
“We have learned to have a wider look at potential cooperation partners. And in this context, of course, as Minister Pistorius said, we are also looking at Turkish products,” Schmid added, confirming earlier media reports of German interest in Yildirimhan and Tayfun missiles, which are currently under development.
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