Türkiye’s leading defense electronics company ASELSAN has entered a new phase of growth and modernization with the launch of a $1.5 billion investment at its upcoming Oğulbey Technology Base in Gölbaşı, Ankara. The milestone was announced during the “Foundations for the Next 50 Years” ceremony, attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, marking ASELSAN’s 50th anniversary. The event combined three strategic initiatives: the delivery of the first 47 Çelik Kubbe (Iron Dome) air-defense, radar, and electronic-warfare systems, the inauguration of 14 new production facilities, and the groundbreaking of the massive Oğulbey campus, which will become ASELSAN’s largest and most advanced site.

CEO Ahmet Akyol described the new campus as “a historic step for Türkiye’s defense future,” emphasizing that Oğulbey will consolidate radar, electronic warfare, communications, and electro-optical production lines under one roof to boost efficiency, integration, and supply-chain resilience. The 6,500-acre site will host cutting-edge laboratories, test centers, and manufacturing halls—making it one of the largest defense technology hubs in Europe.

The delivery of 47 systems under the Çelik Kubbe program strengthens Türkiye’s layered air-defense network by integrating SİPER, HİSAR, and KORKUT systems into a unified command-and-control structure. During the ceremony, live footage captured by ASELFLIR-600, the world-class camera onboard the AKINCI UAV, was broadcast, demonstrating the system’s real-time sensor-fusion capabilities. Akyol highlighted that the deliveries represent “only the beginning,” pledging continued expansion of production to further enhance Türkiye’s air-defense readiness.

ASELSAN also inaugurated 14 new facilities, increasing its serial-production capacity by 40 percent. This expansion supports faster delivery cycles and stronger export competitiveness. Akyol noted that ASELSAN is now among the world’s ten fastest-growing defense companies, operating in 25 countries with a rapidly rising export portfolio. In the first half of the year alone, ASELSAN signed $1.3 billion in export contracts—exceeding all of 2024’s total—and became Borsa Istanbul’s most valuable company. He also revealed that the number of engineers returning to Türkiye to join ASELSAN is twice the number of those leaving, underscoring the success of the National Technology Initiative in attracting global talent back home.

The event was attended by key national figures including Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, MİT Director İbrahim Kalın, Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, and Religious Affairs President Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş. The Oğulbey Technology Base is expected to become the core of Türkiye’s defense innovation ecosystem, centralizing the production and integration of radar and air-defense systems while symbolizing ASELSAN’s transition into a global technology powerhouse.