Aselsan Secures €1.47 Billion Deal to Scale Up Production of Türkiye's Multi-Layered Steel Dome Missile Defence Network
Summary
Turkish defence electronics giant Aselsan has concluded a €1.47 billion contract with the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) to expand serial production of air defence systems as part of the broader Steel Dome (Çelik Kubbe) integrated air and missile defence architecture. The Steel Dome system is a sophisticated multi-layered defence network that integrates weapons, radars, electro-optical sensors, communications modules, and command-and-control stations under a unified network, featuring AI-supported decision tools for automated threat evaluation and weapon assignment. The architecture covers multiple altitude bands, ranging from close-in drone and low-flying missile threats handled by the Korkut and Gürz systems, through the Hisar-A and Hisar-O interceptors for short-to-medium ranges, up to the long-range and ballistic missile defence tier provided by the Siper family. This latest contract builds upon a series of major recent awards, including a $1.9 billion Steel Dome deal in September 2025 and a €780 million agreement in June 2026, with Aselsan also investing $1.5 billion in a dedicated production facility described as Europe's largest integrated air defence manufacturing plant. Turkish officials have positioned Steel Dome as conceptually comparable to the U.S. Golden Dome initiative and Israel's layered defence systems, signalling Türkiye's strategic ambition to achieve comprehensive sovereign air defence capability.
Key Takeaways
- 1. **Massive Defence Investment Surge:** Aselsan has now accumulated billions in air defence contracts within less than a year, reflecting Türkiye's accelerating commitment to building a fully indigenous, sovereign air and missile defence capability
- 2. **Strategic Architecture Comparable to Global Benchmarks:** By framing Steel Dome alongside the U.S. Golden Dome and Israeli layered defences, Türkiye is signalling its intent to achieve peer-level strategic air defence depth, reducing dependence on foreign systems
- 3. **Vertical Integration and Industrial Capacity:** The $1.5 billion dedicated Steel Dome production facility underscores Türkiye's deliberate strategy to build domestic manufacturing capacity, enhancing supply chain resilience and long-term export potential
- 4. **AI-Enabled Network-Centric Defence:** The integration of AI-supported threat evaluation and automated weapon assignment within the HAKİM command-and-control system represents a significant leap toward next-generation, data-driven air defence operations
- 5. **Hisar and Siper Systems as Core Interceptors:** The simultaneous SSB contracts with Aselsan and Roketsan for Hisar-A and Hisar-O production confirm these systems as the backbone of Türkiye's near-to-medium term layered defence posture, with Siper addressing higher-tier ballistic missile threats