Turkish unmanned combat aerial vehicle capacity in the framework of its hard power-driven foreign policy

This thesis examines the capacity of Turkish armed unmanned aerial vehicles. To salvage foreign dependency on weapons procurement, Turkey has aimed to develop its own domestic weapons production capacity long before the Justice and Development party government. The evolution of national weapons production capacity of Turkey is examined and documented within the framework of its recent Turkish foreign policy as of 2010 to 2023. 'Dronization' of Turkish foreign policy has followed the militarization in recent years. Accordingly, the research question aimed to be answered is "What is the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle capacity that stands out in the militarization of Turkish Foreign Policy? How has it progressed?" The research method used to answer this question was descriptive case analysis. This method was chosen in order to describe and examine the developments that emerged for the first time in Turkey. Therefore, this thesis aims at examining and describing rather than theorization, and works towards creating sources and a pathway for subsequent studies. Turkish drone capacity is studied in the light of the factors giving way to the recent militarization of Turkey's foreign policy. The systems included in the Turkish national combat drones inventory and the work of their developers are explained. This study also illustrates how unmanned combat systems, which have a significant impact on the Turkish military inventory and export figures, are discussed in foreign media. The literature review undertaken focuses on relevant official documents, legislation, open source reports, and news analysis. All of the opinions and suggestions in the thesis are my personal ideas that I have shaped as a result of the research I have conducted, and they do not reflect the opinion of any person or institution.