Turkish defense contractor Roketsan is launching a $3 billion infrastructure expansion to boost its domestic missile production and space launch capabilities, says Murat İkinci, the firm’s CEO.
Roketsan recently completed the first $1 billion phase of the initiative, anchored by a $450 million fuel production plant in the central Turkish city of Kırıkkale, which is expected to significantly boost Türkiye’s fuel output.
The firm will also establish a new tech research and development (R&D) center to be staffed by 1,000 workers — the facility is described as Europe’s largest warhead manufacturing plant.
The new infrastructure will enable the domestic mass production of anti-tank weapons, penetration warheads, and Tayfun ballistic missiles.
Speaking to reporters at a groundbreaking ceremony on April 7, İkinci outlined the firm’s financial roadmap, framing the infrastructure expansion as a necessary response to the booming global defense market.
“We aim to add another $2 billion to this amount with the new investments we will make in the coming period, bringing the total to $3 billion,” he said.
This week saw the start of the next phase of the firm’s new air defense and ballistic missile production plant groundbreaking.
İkinci stated that Roketsan secured over $10 billion in new orders last year, as a defense supplier to nearly 50 countries — he said the firm’s total export volume surged more than 100 percent last year.
