Erdogan: Türkiye has become a country whose door is being knocked on in the defense industry.

This came in a speech he delivered on Thursday during the opening ceremony of a number of public parks to mark the 572nd anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul.

Erdogan noted that Türkiye used to wait at other countries' doors to meet its defense industry needs, but today it has become a country whose doors are being knocked on in this field.

"We continue to change the way we fight today with our drones, air defense missile systems, unmanned submarines, and many other technologies," he said.

Regarding Turkey's energy exploration and drilling efforts, Erdogan said, "We have sent our ship, Osman Gazi, to the Black Sea. We will conduct underwater research and extract natural gas from it, which will greatly enhance the comfort of our citizens."

Last Saturday, President Erdogan announced that Türkiye had discovered 75 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Goktepe field in the Black Sea.

It's worth noting that the Turkish Petroleum Corporation discovered 320 billion cubic meters of natural gas in August 2020. Upon completion of exploration, the well's reserves were updated to 405 billion cubic meters.

In June 2021, a new reserve of 135 billion cubic meters was discovered, bringing the total natural gas reserves in the Black Sea to 540 billion cubic meters.

In December 2022, the aforementioned reserve was updated to 652 billion cubic meters, following a reassessment conducted by the independent firm DeGolyer & MacNaughton. The discovery of 58 billion cubic meters of new gas was also announced, bringing the total volume of discovered natural gas reserves in the Black Sea to 710 billion cubic meters.