Aselsan joins global leaders in NATO air defense project

Aselsan joins global leaders in NATO air defense project

ANKARA
Aselsan joins global leaders in NATO air defense project

Turkish defense giant Aselsan has been selected as one of five global contractors to help design NATO’s future air system architecture, a milestone that highlights the country’s role in the alliance’s defense landscape.

Aselsan will join industry heavyweights such as Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Lockheed Martin UK, Raytheon and Thales LAS in the Ground-Based Air Defense (GBAD) project.

The initiative, spearheaded by NATO's Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), aims to develop very short to medium-range capabilities to counter a variety of air and missile threats.

Currently in its concept stage, GBAD is one of 27 multinational efforts designed to bolster operational effectiveness, cost efficiency and interoperability among NATO allies and partners.

Türkiye's Defense Industry Presidency (SSB) head Haluk Görgün described Aselsan’s inclusion as “a strong manifestation of our country’s engineering capacity, technological depth and strategic reliability.”

“This development reveals the level, vision and global capabilities of not only Aselsan but also the entire Turkish defense industry,” Görgün told daily Milliyet.

Under the agreement with NSPA, Aselsan will work on the initial concept study of the system’s architecture alongside its counterparts. Deliverables from this phase are expected by mid-September, at which point the most suitable system designs will be assessed.

While Türkiye's domestically developed Hisar air defense system is operational within the country, other NATO members utilize alternatives such as the Patriot system.

The SSB currently oversees more than 1,100 procurement and R&D programs, Görgün said. The Turkish defense industry ranks as the world’s 11th largest exporter, with approximately 75 percent of its systems — including those used by the Turkish Armed Forces — also deployed within NATO forces.

Türkiye's layered air defense architecture, including the domestically developed Hakim 100 air command and control system, has played a key role in Aselsan’s selection for this critical project, reports said.

The system integrates data from various sensors to generate a cohesive air picture and effectively directs both land-based air defense systems and fighter jets using threat assessment algorithms.

This layered defense network, dubbed the Steel Dome architecture, has demonstrated Aselsan’s expertise in air defense systems, paving the way for the company’s involvement in shaping NATO’s future airspace defense, local media suggested.