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Company Dossier

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.

FILE · aselsanOpen-source file · BattlePolicy ProStatus Public (Borsa İstanbul: ASELS); state-linked incumbent, NOT a startup — founded 1975 by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation after the post-Cyprus U.S. arms embargo, it is Türkiye's dominant defense-electronics prime and, by valuation, ranks among the top ~10 European and top ~20 global defense firms.Unverified
Aselsan
C4ISRTRPublic (Borsa İstanbul: ASELS); state-linked incumbent, NOT a startup — founded 1975 by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation after the post-Cyprus U.S. arms embargo, it is Türkiye's dominant defense-electronics prime and, by valuation, ranks among the top ~10 European and top ~20 global defense firms.
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.
Founded
1975
HQ
Ankara, Türkiye
Headcount
~13,500-14,0002025
Total raised
Publicly listedBorsa İstanbul: ASELS
Valuation
Market cap ~2 trillion TL (~$44B) as of May 2026; first Turkish firm to top $30B (Jan 2026) — verify current
Stage
Public state-linked incumbent

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.

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