ISTANBUL — Turkey will spend the equivalent of $27.34 billion on defense and security in 2026, marking a 30% increase compared with the previous year.
The Turkish parliament approved the budget in late December, and it entered into force on Jan. 1. The Ministry of National Defence (MoND) is slate to get $19.08 billion, representing a 31.6% increase over its 2025 budget.
According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, the annual rate of change for the consumer price index was 30,38% in 2025.
Of the MoND allocation, 53.9% is earmarked for personnel costs and social security, 44.1% for procurement, with the remainder allocated to other capital expenditures.
The broader defense and security budget also includes funding for other ministries and government bodies, notably the Ministry of the Interior, the Gendarmerie General Command, and related security organizations. Of the total allocation, 97% is classified as military expenditure.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the $27.34 billion defense and security budget corresponds to 2.33% of GDP, broadly in line with NATO benchmarks. The ministry projects defense spending will rise further to 2.83% of GDP in 2027 and 3.2% in 2028.
For comparison, the 2025 budget projections had foreseen MoND spending of $17.30 billion in 2026, with total defense and security expenditure estimated at $24.59 billion.
The higher-than-projected increase reflects not only inflation adjustments but also Ankara’s commitment to sustained defense investment. It aligns Turkey with NATO’s broader trend toward increased military spending and underlines support for major procurement programs, including the KAAN indigenous fighter aircraft and the Steel Dome air-defense architecture.
Cem Devrim Yaylali is a Turkey correspondent for Defense News. He is a keen photographer of military ships and has a passion for writing about naval and defense issues. He was born in Paris, France, and resides in Istanbul, Turkey. He is married with one son.
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