ASELSAN, Turkey's leading defense electronics firm, announced the signing of a 1.47 billion euro ($1.68 billion) contract with the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) to expand serial production of air defense systems. The agreement builds on ongoing production initiatives and is expected to boost the company's revenue. ASELSAN CEO Ahmet Akyol emphasized that the contract will strengthen Turkey's air defense capacity and support the Steel Dome architecture.

ASELSAN serves as a primary supplier for Turkey's integrated, multilayered Steel Dome air defense architecture. The company develops critical technologies including air and missile defense systems, radar platforms, electronic warfare capabilities, military communications, electro-optical systems, and command-and-control solutions. The Steel Dome architecture is designed to provide integrated protection against low-, medium-, and high-altitude threats through domestically developed land- and sea-based missile batteries, radars, electro-optical sensors, communications modules, and command centers.

ASELSAN occupies a central position within Turkey's defense industrial ecosystem. Working in close partnership with ROKETSAN, the company provides systems spanning from low-altitude micro-unmanned aerial vehicles to high-altitude ballistic protection. Key products include the Korkut mobile, dual-barrel self-propelled air defense gun, the Hisar-A and Hisar-O low- and medium-altitude air defense missile systems, and the Siper long-range, high-altitude air and missile defense system. The company also supplies Hakim, the upper-level command-and-control system responsible for coordinating architecture components.

Turkey announced the Steel Dome initiative in July 2024, marking the culmination of years of efforts to increase defense production and reduce dependence on foreign suppliers. Last year, defense companies signed $6.5 billion in contracts to reinforce and develop the Steel Dome, with $3.2 billion awarded to ASELSAN. In May, CEO Akyol stated the company would increase product deliveries by 50% under the Steel Dome program and target delivery of more than 150 different components in 2026. Steel Dome components are projected to comprise nearly one-third of the company's portfolio in coming years.

Integrated air defense architectures are widely adopted by NATO nations according to international defense standards. The United States' HIMARS and Patriot systems, Germany's IRIS-T, and the Netherlands' NASAMS represent international applications of multilayered defense concepts. ASELSAN's Hisar family features the Hisar-A+ with a 15-kilometer interception range and Hisar-O+ with a 25-kilometer range, designed to counter fighter jets, helicopters, air-to-surface missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles. These systems were jointly developed with ROKETSAN, with missile warheads designed by TÜBİTAK SAGE.