Erdoğan Welcomes South Korean Interest in Türkiye’s PD170 Drone Engine Ahead of Seoul Visit
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has welcomed South Korea’s interest in the PD170, a Turkish-developed turbodiesel engine for medium-altitude drones. He made the remark in a written interview with South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, published ahead of his state visit to Seoul this week.
- Erdoğan told Yonhap that Türkiye welcomes South Korea’s interest in the PD170 turbodiesel aircraft engine
- The written interview was published on 2 November 2026 (Korean time), before his state visit to Seoul this week
- He named UAVs, engine technologies and electronic systems as areas for defence industry cooperation
- No contract, quantity, Korean partner or timeline has been announced
- TEI lists the PD170 at 172 hp; it powers ANKA and AKSUNGUR drones and has been used on Bayraktar TB3 flights
What Erdoğan said
“We welcome South Korea’s interest in the PD170 turbodiesel aircraft engine,” Erdoğan told Yonhap in the interview, which the agency published at 06:01 Korean time on 2 November (Yonhap). He said he saw new opportunities for defence cooperation in unmanned aerial vehicles, engine technologies and electronic systems. In the fuller Korean-language version, he also mentioned advanced engineering. He said the PD170, developed by TEI, had proven itself on the ANKA and AKSUNGUR drones, and cited the Altay main battle tank as an example of earlier Turkish–Korean cooperation (Yonhap, Korean edition).
Erdoğan did not say which Korean company or programme was interested in the engine. He also gave no quantity or schedule, and no agreement on the PD170 has been made public.
The engine
TEI (TUSAŞ Engine Industries) developed the PD170 under a project run by the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB). According to the company’s product page, it is a 2.1-litre, four-cylinder, common-rail turbodiesel with two-stage turbocharging. TEI says it produces 172 hp (±2) and weighs 162 kg dry. The engine runs on JP-8, Jet A-1, JP-5 or EN 590 diesel and has a TEI-developed FADEC. TEI gives its ceiling as 45,000 ft and says it still delivers 170 hp at 20,000 ft and 90 hp at 40,000 ft (TEI).
TEI says the PD170 first flew on ANKA on 27 December 2018 and entered mass production in 2019. The engine flies on AKSUNGUR and has been used on Bayraktar TB3 flight missions. TEI also says an AKSUNGUR powered by the engine stayed airborne for 45 hours in a single sortie at 42,000 ft. TEI is a subsidiary of Turkish Aerospace (TUSAŞ).
The wider agenda in Seoul
Defence was one of several topics in the interview. Erdoğan said cooperation with KEPCO on the planned Sinop nuclear power plant continues under a memorandum signed during President Lee Jae-myung’s visit to Ankara in November 2025. He said pre-feasibility work had been done and a final decision would depend on cost and financing. He reaffirmed a $15 billion bilateral trade target. According to Yonhap, Turkish exports to South Korea were $1.14 billion in 2025 and imports $10.26 billion. 2027 will mark 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Engine technology is one of the areas where Türkiye’s defence industry has long depended on foreign suppliers. For background, see our guide to the defence industry of Türkiye.
Sources: Yonhap written interview with President Erdoğan (English and Korean editions); TEI PD170 product page.
