Asisguard
Ankara defense firm, the drone arm of Asis Elektronik, that built Songar — Turkey's first serially produced armed drone, a quadrotor firing rifles, grenade launchers and 81mm mortars, in TAF service since 2020 and exported abroad.
Background
Asisguard (ASİSGUARD) is an Ankara-based defense contractor and the drone/electronics arm of Asis Elektronik ve Bilişim Sistemleri A.Ş., a wholly Turkish-owned group also active in smart cities, cybersecurity and fintech; it is headquartered at the METU Technopark (ODTÜ Teknokent) in Çankaya. The firm designs rotary-wing armed and unarmed drones, electro-optical sights, border-security systems and military vehicle electronics. Its flagship is Songar, which it markets as Turkey's first indigenous armed drone.
The programme began as a 2018 sketch, was unveiled at the IDEF 2019 fair in Istanbul, and — after a December 2019 contract with the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) — entered the Turkish Armed Forces in February 2020 as the first armed UAV in the TAF inventory, later earning a Domestic Goods Certificate at 83.42% local content. Asisguard's founding year as a legal entity is not firmly documented in open sources; the 2018 date marks the Songar programme, not incorporation. Beyond Songar it fields the Dogay ISR quadrotor and, from 2026, the SARBOT military quadruped robot.
Financial footing
- Foundational December 2019 contract with Turkey's Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB)
- Eight Songar systems delivered to gendarmerie, land forces, special forces and special operations units (2020)
- Confirmed exports (buyers undisclosed): an African country, an Asia-Pacific customer taking the top-tier night-vision 5.56mm configuration, and a first North American sale (2022) — no dollar values released
- Reported (not company-confirmed) operators: Indonesia and Nigeria
- India alleges Pakistan used Songar in the May 2025 Operation Sindoor clashes
- Asisguard denies ever selling Songar to Pakistan and opened a provenance investigation
- Backers: Wholly owned by Asis Elektronik ve Bilişim Sistemleri A.Ş. (Asis Electronics and Information Systems), a 100%-Turkish-capital group active in defense, smart cities, cybersecurity and fintech; no external/VC investors disclosed — not venture-funded
Asisguard is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, revenue or valuation — as a subsidiary of the 100%-Turkish-capital Asis Elektronik group it is not venture-backed. Third-party data aggregators estimate annual revenue around $13.8M and headcount in the ~65-150 range, but these are unverified vendor figures, not audited disclosures.
Its foundational government business was the December 2019 SSB order under which eight Songar systems were delivered to the gendarmerie, land forces, special forces and special operations units. Export revenue is undisclosed; management has confirmed contracts with an unnamed African country, an Asia-Pacific buyer (top-tier night-vision, 5.56mm variant, advance payment received) and a first North American sale in 2022 — but no dollar value has been released for any export deal, and the company treats buyer identities as confidential.
Major customers & contracts
The primary customer is the Turkish state — the Turkish Armed Forces (gendarmerie, land forces, special forces, special operations) and the General Directorate of Security, which field Songar for border and counter-terrorism operations. Asisguard has publicly confirmed export contracts without naming buyers: an African nation, an Asia-Pacific customer taking the top night-vision 5.56mm configuration, and a 2022 North American first.
Trade and defense press have reported Indonesia and Nigeria as operators, though the company has not confirmed those names. In May 2025 India accused Pakistan of using Songar drones in the India-Pakistan clashes; Asisguard publicly denied ever selling Songar to Pakistan and said it had opened an investigation into the drones' provenance — leaving Pakistani use disputed rather than a confirmed customer relationship.
Leadership & contact surface
Leadership: Barış Düzgün (General Manager)
Official site: https://www.asisguard.com.tr
Competitive position
Songar sits inside a crowded Turkish drone ecosystem but occupies a distinct niche: not the medium-altitude strike class of Baykar's Bayraktar TB2 or TAI's Anka, but a man-portable, rotary-wing 'flying gun' for tactical fire support. Its differentiator is a stabilised weapon mount (the OASIS gun stabiliser) with recoil damping and an electronic sight/ballistic module that let a quadrotor fire a rifle, grenade launcher or 81mm mortar accurately from the air — the company claims a 15cm grouping at 200m.
Nearer rivals include STM's Kargu loitering munition (a one-way attack drone, not a reusable armed platform) and a widening field of Chinese and Israeli armed multirotors. Being 'Turkey's first armed drone' gives Asisguard marketing and export cachet on the back of Turkey's broader drone-export boom, but it must defend the case for a reusable, weapon-stabilised airframe against cheap FPV-style munitions that deliver ordnance at a fraction of the cost.
Battlefield relevance
In Turkish service Songar provides airborne fire support in border and counter-terrorism operations — protecting convoys and fixed positions and, in a first, mounted on and cued from a 4x4 armoured vehicle (BMC Amazon). Its variants let one airframe deliver a 5.56mm rifle (up to 200 rounds in adjustable bursts), up to six 40mm grenades, an 81mm SAGE Togan near-precision mortar (~10m CEP, 35m blast radius) or laser-guided mini-missiles.
The most prominent combat episode was Operation Sindoor in May 2025, when India said Pakistan launched roughly 300-400 drones across 36 sites from Siachen to Sir Creek and identified downed airframes as Asisguard Songars; Indian air defences claimed most were intercepted. Asisguard disputes any Pakistan sale, so the deployment is contested — but the episode put a machine-gun drone into a state-on-state exchange.
Sources & verification
- Army Technology — SONGAR Armed Drone System, Turkey (Sep 2020)
- Wikipedia — Asisguard Songar (updated 2025)
- Daily Sabah / AA — Turkish firm sells armed drone Songar to African, Asian countries (Jun 21, 2022)
- Asisguard — Organization Structure (parent: Asis Elektronik ve Bilişim Sistemleri A.Ş.)
- Intelligence Online — Mystery remains over provenance of Turkish drones used in India-Pakistan clashes (Sep 4, 2025)
- NDTV — What Is 'Asisguard Songar': Turkish Armed Drones Used By Pak Against India (May 9, 2025)
- The Indian Express — What are Turkish Songar drones, used by Pak to attack India? (May 9, 2025)
- Times of India — What are Turkish Asisguard Songar drones Pakistan used to target Indian military bases? (May 9, 2025)