Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — Turkey has found a novel way to pay for weapons — offer young men to buy their way out of the military draft.

The government has drafted a plan to raise $5 billion through selling exemptions to military conscription. Under the plan, Turkish men from the age of 29 could pay more than $8,000 to avoid the draft.

“The money we will collect from this exemption will directly be transferred to our Defense Industry Support Fund to be used as part of our efforts to adopt a technology-intensive military,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

In an address to parliament on Dec. 2, Davutoglu said more than 600,000 Turkish men could receive paid exemptions. Turkey has imposed a draft of up to a year for males over the age of 20.

Officials said the draft exemptions would bolster Turkey’s military procurement drive. The Defense Industry Support Fund reported revenues of nearly $1.5 billion in 2013 from taxes on alcohol, cigarettes and gambling.

Turkey has sought to increase allocations to the state-owned defense industry. The Defense Ministry has announced plans for $25 billion in annual defense exports by 2023. Exports for 2014 were expected to reach $1.5 billion.

“Yes, we have a lot of work to do, but the return on investment in the defense sector is very high,” Defense Industry Undersecretary Ismail Demir said. “Moreover, a good value-added product earns a high price on the market. If the country’s production, its technology and its industry’s infrastructure are not strong, if its ecosystem is not strong, it is unable support the defense industry.”