Turkey’s leading defense electronics company ASELSAN has achieved a remarkable milestone by integrating artificial intelligence not only into its defense systems but also into its corporate operations. Speaking at the “AI Tomorrow Summit 2025” organized by the Artificial Intelligence Policies Association, ASELSAN General Manager Ahmet Akyol revealed that AI-driven applications within the company have saved 650,000 labor hours and generated an efficiency gain of about $35 million over the past year. According to Akyol, this transformation has improved ASELSAN’s overall productivity ratio by 5% in just twelve months.

Akyol emphasized that this achievement was realized through the ASELSAN Next initiative, launched in 2024 to strategically manage the company’s AI integration efforts. Currently, AI specialists are active in seven key domains within ASELSAN, with new experts being added as the scope of applications expands. Artificial intelligence is now utilized across various departments — from procurement and production planning to quality assurance, design, maintenance, and decision-support systems — marking a profound shift in ASELSAN’s operational model.

In defense technology, ASELSAN is leveraging AI in electronic warfare systems, sonar technologies, air defense platforms, unmanned naval vehicles, and electro-optical and guidance systems. These implementations enhance system autonomy, improve target recognition and tracking precision, and reduce the need for human intervention in critical missions.

Highlighting ASELSAN’s evolution over five decades, Akyol noted that while the company traditionally combined mechanical, electronic, and software design processes, in the past two years it has also introduced a “machine learning-based design process” layer. This innovation has accelerated product development and validation, significantly shortening time-to-market cycles. Furthermore, Akyol stated that ASELSAN is investing in infrastructure for quantum computing and high-performance computing to further strengthen its AI capabilities.

ASELSAN’s strategic use of AI represents a turning point not only for the company but also for the entire Turkish defense sector — demonstrating how artificial intelligence can be transformed from a conceptual trend into a measurable driver of economic and technological efficiency.