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ASELSAN Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi
ASELSAN makes defense electronics — radios, radars, electronic warfare gear, avionics, and guided-weapon systems — mainly for Turkey's military and government buyers.
ASELSAN is Turkey's largest defense electronics company. It builds the eyes, ears, and nervous system of modern militaries: secure radios that let soldiers talk without being overheard, radars that spot incoming threats, electronic warfare systems that jam an enemy's signals, avionics for aircraft, and guidance kits that turn ordinary bombs into precision weapons.
Its main customer is the Turkish government and its armed forces, which gives ASELSAN a deep, reliable home base — roughly three-quarters of its revenue has historically come from domestic buyers. But the growth story is exports. Turkish defense products have become popular with countries that want capable gear without depending on the US or Europe, and ASELSAN has been signing export deals across the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. It also earns money through long-term maintenance and modernization contracts, which keep cash coming in after the initial sale. Defense electronics is a hard club to join. You need decades of testing, security clearances, and a government willing to trust you with its secrets. ASELSAN's edge is that it has been Turkey's go-to supplier since the 1970s, building know-how that few local rivals can match. Its weaknesses are real too: it depends heavily on one government, faces Western sanctions risk on some exports, and must compete with giants like Lockheed Martin and RTX when chasing international deals.
The company plows most of its cash back into research and new production facilities, and it has invested in areas like unmanned systems, air defense, and even electric vehicle charging. Turkey's military budget and its push to become a defense exporter are the real engine here. When Turkey sells weapons abroad, ASELSAN usually supplies a big chunk of the electronics inside them.
Saved answer · last researched 14 Nov 2026