Drones in the Age of Modern Warfare
Drone attacks on NATO territory, temporary airport closures and the surveillance of critical infrastructure demonstrate that unmanned systems are no longer confined to distant theatres of war, but are increasingly encroaching on everyday life in modern, open societies. Drones, autonomous systems and electronic warfare now have a decisive influence on the balance of power on the battlefield. Military superiority today stems less from technological perfection than from adaptability, production capacity and the rapid implementation of innovations. Even though new systems can be quickly adapted in combat or neutralised by countermeasures, drones remain potential game-changers in modern warfare.
Turkey as a drone power
At the 18th Istanbul Security Conference® in 2026, particularly within the framework of the working group “The Future of Warfare: How to Handle Cyber, Hybrid and AI Warfare?”, Turkey’s central role in the field of modern drone and UAV systems became clear. Turkey combines operational effectiveness, high production speed and comparatively low costs in a model that has attracted international attention. Turkish defence and aerospace exports reached a record volume of around ten billion US dollars in 2025. Of this, the manufacturer Baykar alone exported drone systems worth around 2.2 billion US dollars. Today, numerous NATO and EU member states – including Poland, Romania, Albania and Croatia – are evaluating or utilising Turkish drone systems and defence technologies. Turkey is thus an integral part of Europe’s security landscape. Consequently, the question is no longer whether Europe will cooperate with Turkish systems, but how this cooperation will be structured strategically. The discussions in Istanbul showed that, in 2026, security will not be achieved through diplomacy alone, but through industrial strength, innovative capacity and a willingness to act geopolitically.
Strategic drone partnership with Turkey
Germany could strategically explore the possibility of a deeper partnership with Turkey in the field of drones. Such cooperation could accelerate the modernisation of the Bundeswehr, strengthen Europe’s defence industrial resilience and promote technological innovation within NATO. Areas for cooperation arise in particular in tactical and operational reconnaissance drones, maritime UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) systems, drone defence, sensor and munitions integration, and the establishment of joint testing, training and production structures. This would mean resolutely pursuing shared interests wherever they strengthen Europe’s security. Germany contributes industrial strength and European networks; Turkey brings operational experience and scalable production capacities. This could generate added value in terms of security policy that goes beyond the bilateral cooperation seen to date. At the same time, Europe would be ill-advised, from a strategic perspective, to continue viewing Turkey’s security and technological developments primarily through the lens of past differences. The European UAV market is expected to reach a volume of well over 100 billion US dollars over the next ten years – a development that will also determine, in terms of industrial policy, Europe’s future role in global technological competition. The Istanbul Security Conference® regularly provides a platform to further explore and strategically consolidate this kind of cooperation potential, amongst other things.
Actively shaping the future of security policy
In future, states will only be able to preserve their freedom if they combine determination in foreign policy with technological innovation and industrial capacity. Credibility in security policy is not built solely at summits, but in production halls, research centres and strategic partnerships. Germany and Turkey have the opportunity to help shape this transformation together – as NATO allies, industrial partners and key players in security policy at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty – not out of short-term expediency, but out of a shared responsibility for the stability and capacity to act of the Euro-Atlantic area.
