Aselsan
Türkiye's largest defense-electronics prime — radar, EW, EO/IR, comms and HİSAR/SİPER air defense. A state-linked, Borsa İstanbul-listed incumbent (74.2% Turkish Armed Forces Foundation), not a startup.
Background
Aselsan was founded in 1975 by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, spun up after the 1974 U.S. arms embargo (imposed over Cyprus) exposed Türkiye's dependence on imported military communications gear. From radios built at its Ankara Macunköy plant, it grew into the country's dominant defense-electronics house, spanning radar, electronic warfare, electro-optics/EO-IR, tactical communications and C4ISR.
It is the prime integrator behind Türkiye's indigenous air defenses — the SİPER long-range system (co-developed with Roketsan and TÜBİTAK SAGE) plus the HİSAR-A+/O+ tiers — and the electronics backbone of the national 'Steel Dome' (ÇELİKKUBBE) network activated in August 2025. Headquartered in Ankara with subsidiaries across Anatolia and abroad, it employs roughly 13,500-14,000 people. Ahmet Akyol is CEO. In 2025, its 50th year, it laid the foundations for a ~$1.5B Oğulbey Technology Base and ranked 42nd on the Defense News Top 100, targeting the top 30 by 2030. It is an established prime, not a startup.
Financial footing
- 2025 (confirmed via company disclosures/press): revenue 180.4 bn TL (~$4.11B, +15% real y/y)
- Net profit 29.92 bn TL (~$684M, +50%)
- Order backlog $20.4B (+46%)
- New orders $9.6B
- Export contracts >$2B (+104%)
- R&D $1.36B (+40%)
- 2024 revenue reported ~120 bn TL (~$3.2B)
- SIPRI put its 2024 arms revenue at $3.47B (+24%)
- Dec 2025: $410M electronic-warfare export contract with Poland — one of its largest single overseas deals
- Market cap crossed $30B in Jan 2026 (first Turkish firm to do so) and ~2 trillion TL (~$44B) by May 2026, making it Borsa İstanbul's most valuable listed company
- Stock rose >200% in 2025
- Backers: Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV) holds 74.2% and retains control; the remainder is free float traded on Borsa İstanbul (ticker ASELS). It is state-linked but publicly listed — not venture- or PE-backed.
Aselsan posted 2025 revenue of 180.4 bn TL (~$4.11B), a 15% real increase over 2024, with net profit up 50% to 29.92 bn TL (~$684M) and EBITDA of 47.3 bn TL. Its order backlog jumped 46% to a record $20.4B on $9.6B of new orders, and it signed over $2B in export contracts (up 104%). R&D spending rose 40% to $1.36B. 2024 revenue was reported around $3.2B (SIPRI logged $3.47B in arms sales, +24%).
The equity story is dramatic: shares rose more than 200% in 2025, the stock became the first Turkish name to top a $30B market cap (Jan 2026) and reached roughly 2 trillion lira (~$44B) by May 2026 — Borsa İstanbul's most valuable listed company. Financial liabilities fell to 10% of assets and net debt dropped 33%. (Verify current market cap at publish; it moves fast.)
Major customers & contracts
Aselsan's anchor customer is the Turkish state — the Turkish Armed Forces and the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) — which drives the bulk of its backlog through air-defense, EW, radar, avionics and communications programs. Its export base has broadened sharply, now reaching around 95 countries, with Europe and NATO members the fastest-growing markets.
The standout 2025 win was a $410M electronic-warfare contract with Poland — a NATO ally — beating major international suppliers in a competitive tender; the company frames it as a reference sale for further European deals. Bangladesh is reported to be negotiating HİSAR-O+ and SİPER air-defense purchases (not yet confirmed signed), and Aselsan added three new export destinations in 2025.
Leadership & contact surface
Leadership: Ahmet Akyol (CEO & President / General Manager)
Official site: https://www.aselsan.com
Competitive position
Aselsan does not belong to the venture-backed defense-tech startup cohort — it is a state-linked national prime competing head-on with Western incumbents. In EO/IR, radar and EW it sits against Thales, Leonardo, Hensoldt, RTX and Rheinmetall's electronics units; in ground-based air defense its SİPER and HİSAR systems compete for export orders against RTX's Patriot, Eurosam's SAMP/T and Diehl's IRIS-T.
Its edge is Türkiye's whole-of-industry model: Aselsan supplies the sensors, EW and fire-control electronics while Roketsan builds effectors and Baykar/TUSAŞ build the airframes, letting Ankara offer sovereign, sanction-resistant, price-competitive packages that undercut Western primes on cost and delivery. That vertical stack — plus a listed valuation now rivaling European majors — is what distinguishes it from both the primes it competes with and the startups chasing the same drone and counter-UAS niches.
Battlefield relevance
Aselsan is the electronics layer inside Türkiye's drone-export story rather than a platform maker itself. Its CATS and ASELFLIR-500 electro-optical targeting sensors and ANTIDOT electronic-support/EW pods equip Baykar's Bayraktar TB2, the drone Ukraine bought before 2022 and used against Russian forces — striking columns near Kyiv and helping fix the cruiser Moskva for the Neptune strike (note: some Ukrainian TB2s carried Wescam optics rather than Aselsan's).
Its EOTS also flies on Baykar's Kızılelma jet UCAV. On home soil, Aselsan's SİPER and HİSAR interceptors, ALP/KALKAN radars and KORAL EW modules make up the Steel Dome network activated in 2025, with SİPER Product-1 entering the Turkish inventory in October 2024.
Sources & verification
- Breaking Defense — Turkey's Aselsan sees over $4 billion in revenue, up 15% from last year (Feb 2026)
- Hürriyet Daily News — Aselsan's net profit surges 50 percent in 2025 (Feb 2026)
- Daily Sabah — Türkiye's Aselsan marks half-century with record gains in 2025 (Jan 2026)
- Reuters — Turkey's Aselsan to ramp up delivery of 'Steel Dome' parts in 2026 (May 2026)
- Turkish Minute — ASELSAN becomes Turkey's most valuable listed company amid defense export boom (May 2026)
- Army Recognition — Poland Chooses Türkiye's ASELSAN in $410M Pact for Electronic Warfare and Counter-Drone Shielding (Dec 2025)
- Army Recognition — Türkiye Activates Aselsan's Steel Dome Multi-Layered Integrated Air Defense System (Aug 2025)
- Defence Industry Europe — Aselsan becomes first Turkish company to exceed $30 billion market value on Borsa Istanbul (Jan 2026)
- Turkish Minute — Turkish defense industry revenues exceed $10 billion in SIPRI ranking (Dec 2025)