Istanbul Family Foundation and National Defense University (MSÜ) organized an important event discussing the importance of the family institution. Türkiye’s rapidly falling fertility rate was brought to the agenda at the “Family and Population in Defense of the Homeland” symposium. Speaking at the symposium, MSU Rector Prof. Dr. Erhan Afyoncu’s words, “Our chances of staying on these lands in 2100 are getting weaker” attracted attention. Experts emphasized that population decline will have not only social but also economic and strategic consequences. Stating that the number of children per woman in Türkiye has decreased to 1.48, Afyoncu reminded that the renewal level of the population is 2.1. Stating that Türkiye will be among the rapidly aging countries if the current situation continues, Afyoncu evaluated the population issue as a national security issue and said, “We are facing a greater danger than wars. If the population decrease continues at this rate, our chances of staying on these lands in 2100 are weakening.” Stating that the decrease in the young population will affect many areas, Afyoncu pointed out that preserving the family structure is of strategic importance.

ALGORITHMS ARE GROWING
Speaking at the program, Istanbul Family Foundation President Üner Karabıyık pointed out the importance of social policies that will strengthen family ties. Karabıyık said, “Today, children are not only raised by mothers and fathers, but mostly by algorithms. Screens, not mothers, have become breastfeeding the child. Televisions and screens market the family as a ‘crisis’, marriage as a ‘burden’ and privacy as ‘backwardness’. The great power that took to the streets on the night of July 15 was brewed in the family hearth. Now, the state, politics and civil society must stand shoulder to shoulder against the dark currents that want to prevent this hearth from smoking.” Istanbul Governor Davut Gül also announced that they took action to ease the burden of working mothers. Gül said, “We will build 300 nurseries and kindergartens under the coordination of the Mufti’s Office, Family and Social Services and the Directorate of National Education.”

47 PAPERS WERE PRESENTED
The PROGRAM deals with family and population issues not only under the heading of social policy; It also opened up discussion in terms of homeland defense, state capacity, social resilience and civilization continuity. At the symposium, 47 scientific papers on population policies and family structure were presented. Academics and experts shared solution suggestions for Türkiye’s demographic future.

Büşra Kırtaş (27): I wholeheartedly support our country’s development of the domestic and national defense industry. YILDIRIMHAN became our pride.
Tahir Akbaşoğlu (47): We are very proud. I liked YILDIRIMHAN the most. It was a great breakthrough for our country. Hopefully there will be better ones. May God not harm our country and our nation.
Muhammed Ali Balçok (20), TALAY Teknofest Competition Team student from Sakarya University of Applied Sciences: We come from Sakarya. Coming to the fair with our team was a great experience for us. It did justice to the progress we made.

FUTURE IS HERE
Mevlüt Acar (32): Türkiye’s future is in this field. YILDIRIMHAN missile is truly impressive.
Yeliz Ürkmez (57): We felt proud when we saw it. Tanks and guns are all very nice. I liked Kızılelma and YILDIRIMHAN the most.
Hasan Akın Tatarhan (19) from the TALAY team: It is truly an honor to see and experience the newly developed technologies of our country. We were amazed by Red Apple.

ALL ARE BEAUTIFUL
Metehan Köse (20) from TALAY team: Today, we observed the beautiful projects developed by our country at this fair. All the products are beautiful, I liked them all very much, but the vehicle I liked the most was TULPAR.

In line with the event where national technology was exhibited within the scope of SAHA 2026 defense, aviation and space industry fair, TCG Anadolu, Türkiye’s largest military ship and the world’s first UCAV ship, was opened to the visit of citizens in Sarayburnu. Citizens had the opportunity to witness the power of the Turkish Naval Forces by touring this huge ship produced with local and national resources.
Hanife Sude Daş from Tuzla: I came to see the ship closely. It is a proud event for us that this huge ship was built by Turkish engineers.

Barış Akardaş, who was touring the ship with his child: I am the ship captain, this is my second visit. This time I am coming with my son Ömer. I want my child to be an engineer and achieve such important work. That’s why I wanted him to see this technology and witness its successes at an early age. I go to technological fairs such as TEKNOFEST and I am very proud.

Marmara Anatolian Imam Hatip High School students touring TCG Anatolia: Our goal is to be like engineers who will develop such technologies.
4th grade student Mehmet Emin Titiz: I kissed the hand of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at a technology fair. When he asked me what I wanted to be, I said that I wanted to take part in BAYKAR and be the second Selçuk Bayraktar. I am proud to witness these technological developments. I also visited TCG Barbaros. I became extremely hopeful for my future.

12-year-old Deniz Negiz: It is a great honor to build such a ship with our technology. I’m so happy to be here.
Osman Turhan: The technological success of our country in recent years has made us very proud. It will shed light on the successes of the next generation. It is very nice and proud to witness such a technology and experience it live after many years. I believe that the next generation will take this technology even further.

DUTIES OF TCG ANADOLU
In addition to citizen visits, TCG Anadolu will promote Türkiye’s defense industry by visiting international ports such as England’s Southampton Port as of 2026. TCG Anadolu, which is famous as the guardian of the ‘Blue Homeland’ with its length of 232 meters, can be visited by citizens in Sarayburnu on 8-9 May.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the SAHA EXPO 2026 International Defense, Aerospace Industry Fair Closing Program held at the Istanbul Expo Center under the auspices of the Presidency: SAHA 2026 has now turned into a brand. I wholeheartedly congratulate the SAHA Istanbul family, Europe’s largest defense and aerospace cluster.

Hopefully, we will come to better places and write greater success stories together. We will work tirelessly until we achieve the goal of a fully independent Türkiye in the defense industry. Turkey is undoubtedly one of the founding actors of this new era, where multi-layered and integrated systems replace conventional power elements. Türkiye today; Developing the new generation national combat aircraft, unmanned combat aircraft, helicopters, electronic warfare systems, satellite technologies, air defense systems and radar; It is a country that manufactures and builds tanks, rockets, missiles, armored vehicles, warships and unmanned marine vehicles. It is a state that can develop software, platforms and systems that bear its own signature at every level, from the depths of the sea to the void of space. Türkiye; It has the power and power to cripple any hostile element that dares to threaten its independence and future.

In 2025, we will exceed 10 billion dollars in defense and aerospace exports for the first time in our history. April export figures show that last year’s momentum continues. Our defense and aviation exports increased to 962 million dollars in April. There was a 28 percent increase in the first four months of 2026 compared to the same period last year. Thus, we exported 2 billion 871 million dollars in the first four months. In other words, Türkiye, which exported 248 million dollars a year 23 years ago, today achieves this figure in approximately one week. Endless thanks be to God Almighty. Our short-term goal is to exceed 11 billion dollars and become one of the top 10 countries in the world in this field.

SENDING FISH TO ÖZGÜR ÖZEL

We have struggled against the sabotage of the Trojan horses, which have settled and placed themselves within us, and sometimes appear to be real. This is extremely striking: Whenever Türkiye broke its shell and took a big step in the defense industry, someone immediately stepped in. They tried to hinder our defense industry moves, sometimes by targeting our national companies, sometimes by belittling them, and sometimes with funny arguments such as “fish are spooked”. People who said “The fish are scared” came and visited our fair, but they also saw that the fish were probably not scared. Our answer to those who say “You can’t do it” is to give it at SAHA.

THIS AWARENESS NEEDS TO BE IMMUNIZED IN YOUNG PEOPLE

Ayhan Küçük (60): Our defense industry, which has been developing for the last 20 years, is for defensive purposes, not for attack. Our understanding of the defense industry is to protect people, not to kill people. We are not like Europe and other imperial countries. Türkiye’s ability to become a deterrent force depends on the power produced in the defense industry. In addition, these products need to be promoted not only at fairs but also in schools. Prototyped products should be introduced in schools like a mobile library. This awareness needs to be instilled in young people.

MINI SUBMARINE WITH 80 PERCENT DOMESTIC MAKING

Datum Submarine Technologies Inc. based in ITU. With the support of SSB, Türkiye’s first domestic and national mini submarine was introduced. The submarine, which has an 80 percent local production rate, was unveiled at SAHA 2026. STM exhibited ALPAGU-B at SAHA 2026 Fair. ALPAGU-B, a larger and longer range version of ALPAGU; It takes its ‘surgical intervention’ capability to a strategic level with its artificial intelligence-supported target tracking ability and high explosion power.

GÖLGE DOESN’T NEED A RUNWAY

GÖLGE UAV developed by TAI has successfully completed its test flights. GÖLGE can operate at an altitude of 12 thousand feet and fly for 10 hours. GÖLGE, which has an operational range of 1300 kilometers, can communicate uninterruptedly within a radius of 100 kilometers. The delta wing UAV, which does not need a runway to take off, can take off from the launcher ramp and land safely with a parachute at the end of the mission. Its operational speed is 90 knots. Shadow will be included in the inventory this year and will start a new era in reconnaissance/intelligence missions. In addition, the platform will not only be able to perform its own mission, but will also be able to expand the operational link range by taking on communication duties for other aircraft. Betül USTA-Semih KARA/SABAH

President Erdoğan received the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mansur bin Zayed al Nahyan, at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul.

Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin attended the Launch of Türkiye’s Science Project Transforming Science High School Campuses within the scope of the Izmir program. Speaking at the program held at Izmir Science High School under the name of ‘Science Gardens’, Tekin stated that his term of office has been 3 years and that he has always said that education and training environments are not just areas designed within the classroom. Minister Tekin said, “Our teacher friends are very self-sacrificing, very hard-working, and put in a lot of effort, but let us know that a student who has completed 12 years of compulsory education does not spend even one-tenth of his average life time in school. Let’s make a rough calculation. A young man who has completed 12 years of compulsory education at the age of 18 receives approximately 160 thousand hours of education. When we calculate it in terms of our average education period, he spends around 10 thousand hours in school. That is, approximately one in 16.” “Therefore, different segments of society, families, non-governmental organizations and professional organizations should be involved in sharing the responsibilities of our teacher friends in this regard, so that the sacrifices of our teacher friends can grow exponentially,” he said.

HE WILL NOT BE SUCCESSFUL IF HE SEES ON THE STREET THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT HE LEARNED IN SCHOOL.

Minister Tekin said, “Education and training processes will not be successful if, when our teacher explains something or gives something in the lesson at school, when the children go home, in their families, or while walking on the street, they are faced with the opposite and opposite things around them. That is why I say that what we call education and training is a structure that completely includes all segments of society. Within this, our schools and their gardens, the games played in the gardens, the areas opened for them in the gardens are a part of the education period.”

THEORETICAL EDUCATION SHOULD TRANSFORM INTO SKILLS

Noting that with the Turkey Century Education Model, they demonstrated that children’s lives outside classroom buildings are also a part of the education process, Minister Tekin said, “The transformation of what our children learn in the classroom into skills in social life is now a part of the contemporary education logic and pedagogy, and the transformation of the theoretical education they receive into skills so that our children and young people can compete in the world is measured by international mechanisms. Therefore, we thought that all of these should be evaluated as a package. The Türkiye Century Education Model was built on this and we, in this sense, in our schools.” We started our project to transform our schools, starting from basic education, that is, primary and secondary schools, into areas where our traditional games and children’s games can be played in a healthy way, with our new designs.

Breaking news… Appointments made by the Presidency were published in the Official Gazette and came into force.

According to the appointment decisions that came into force after being published in the Official Gazette with the signature of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Hızır Aslıyürek was appointed as the President of the Forensic Medicine Institute. Mahmut Sütcü was appointed as the Vice President of the Capital Markets Board, Ahmet Aksu was appointed as the Vice President, and Yusuf Sünbül was appointed as the Member. In addition, İbrahim Ömer Gönül was appointed as the Chairman of the Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Board, and Abdi Serdar Üstünsalih was appointed as a member.

According to the decision, Deputy Chairman of the Revenue Administration Mehmet Arabacı was appointed as the President of the Turkish Statistical Institute. Additionally, Yusuf Emre Akgündüz was appointed as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. While Mehmet Avcı, General Manager of Supply Services of the Ministry of National Defense, was dismissed, Diyarbakır Çınar District Governor Zikrullah Doğan was appointed in his place. In addition, Ahmet Alemdar was appointed to the vacant Vice President position at the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities.