Top Turkish defense firms welcome NATO deals on strategic projects

Turkish defense majors Roketsan and Aselsan welcomed on Tuesday defense industry agreements covering several strategic capability areas, signed at the NATO Defense Industry Forum held as part of the summit in Ankara.

Roketsan CEO Murat Ikinci said on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal that the company attended the signing ceremony for agreements on strike capabilities, integrated air and missile defense systems, and space and surveillance capabilities.

Ikinci said Roketsan is among the contractors in the projects, adding that the company would continue contributing to cooperation aimed at strengthening Türkiye’s and NATO’s common defense capabilities through its advanced technologies and deterrent systems.

Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol similarly welcomed the agreements announced under the forum.

“With our advanced technologies and our series production capacity, which increases day by day, we continue to contribute to the security of our alliance as much as that of our country,” Akyol said.

Türkiye signed agreements under the forum on several strategic capability areas to be developed jointly by member states, according to Haluk Görgün, head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB).

Görgün said the agreements cover strike capabilities, integrated air and missile defense systems, space and surveillance capabilities, critical raw materials for the defense industry, and NATO’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) superiority.

“These projects, which will include Aselsan, Roketsan, STM and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBITAK), will form the backbone of the alliance’s deterrence architecture in the coming years,” Görgün said.