08.05.2026 16:52
President Erdogan attended the SAHA 2026 International Defense, Aviation and Space Industry Fair held at the Istanbul Fair Center. Making a statement there, Erdogan referenced Ozgur Ozel's earlier remarks, 'Don't conduct missile tests, the fish are scared,' and said, 'Those who said the fish are scared visited our fair. They have probably seen that the fish aren't scared.'
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the SAHA EXPO 2026 International Defense, Aviation and Space Industry Fair at the Istanbul Fair Center. Erdoğan also delivered a speech there.
A REFERENCE TO ÖZGÜR ÖZEL
In part of his speech, Erdoğan referred to CHP leader Özgür Özel's visit to the fair. Erdoğan said, "They said it's easier to buy from abroad. They said defense industry investments are inefficient. At times by twisting economic data, at times by targeting our national companies, at times by belittling, and at times with ridiculous arguments like 'the fish are scared,' they tried to hinder our defense industry moves. We paid no attention to any of this. Those who said 'the fish are scared' came and visited our fair. But they saw that the fish probably weren't scared. We did not allow them to drag us into their soulless, hopeless, visionless worlds with their learned helplessness syndrome. We gave our answer to those who said you can't do it, today at SAHA 2026, with products that have been successfully tested in battlefields we have built and completed."
ÖZEL HAD SAID "THERE'S NOTHING I WASN'T IMPRESSED BY"
Özgür Özel, who visited the fair yesterday, said in his statement, "We are generally satisfied. There's nothing I wasn't impressed by, everything here is wonderful." Özel, who showed special interest in the domestic fighter aircraft KAAN, had said, "Let no one underestimate KAAN's success. This is the goal set by Ghazi Mustafa Kemal. May God be pleased with anyone who has contributed even a brick."