Turkey’s leading defence companies Aselsan (ASELS), Roketsan and Havelsan expect growing demand from Nato and European countries to translate into new partnerships, technology transfers, joint production projects and higher exports, their executives said on July 8.

Speaking to state-run news service Anadolu Agency at the Defense Industry Forum held in Ankara alongside the Nato leaders summit, Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol said that Turkey has strengthened its position within the alliance, not only through its geography and military power but also through its defence industry capabilities.

“With our geographical strength and military power, we were already part of NATO. Now, with our defence industry strength, we have reinforced our position as an important player,” Akyol said.

He noted that some components of Turkey’s steel dome air defence architecture are being assessed as capability gains for Nato. According to Akyol, radars along with high-, medium- and low-altitude air defence systems as well as low Earth orbit (LEO) surveillance satellites developed by Aselsan are seen as valuable assets that could contribute to Nato’s security architecture.

Akyol also said that Aselsan is increasing investments in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and network-centric warfare technologies with more than 2,000 engineers working on AI projects. He also revealed that the company has been tasked with designing secure LEO communications satellites under a next-generation technology investment program jointly developed by Nato member states.

He added that more than 50% of Aselsan’s exports last year went to Nato-linked countries and expressed confidence that recent developments would significantly increase that share.

Roketsan CEO Murat Ikinci, meanwhile, said that Turkey’s existing defence industrial base and production capacity could rapidly help meet Europe’s growing defence requirements.

He also said that discussions at the forum focused on establishing partnerships with major European defence companies in areas including defence systems, ammunition, smart munitions and drone technologies, adding that several agreements have already been signed.

Ikinci also highlighted strong interest among Nato countries in the Tayfun missile systems. Referring to the latest test conducted over the Black Sea, he said the missile demonstrated its ability to engage moving maritime targets.

“Tayfun is a hypersonic missile. Along with that, its seeker and ability to engage moving targets have a very serious deterrent effect, especially in maritime systems,” he said.

According to Ikinci, production of Tayfun Block 1, Block 2 and Block 3 continues while the missile family is expected to be expanded with Block 4.

“Turkey is ready to use this feature to meet Europe’s and Nato’s own needs, close the production gap and act jointly,” he said.

Ikinci added that Turkey’s defence exports, which reached $10bn last year, could quickly surpass $15bn to $20bn through broader cooperation models with Nato and European partners.

Havelsan CEO Mehmet Akif Nacar also said the company sees significant opportunities to expand technology transfers to Nato countries in the coming years.

Nacar stated that Havelsan develops technologies in simulation, command and control, cybersecurity, military software and system integration for the Turkish armed forces and international partners. He noted that the company exported network planning software to Nato last year in the field of tactical data link management centers and signed its first contracts with the alliance.

He added that Havelsan’s products were once again tested and certified this year during Nato’s coalition warrior interoperability eXploration, eXperimentation, eXamination, eXercise (CWIX) activities.

Nacar also said that the company has developed a coast guard surveillance system for a Black Sea country and provides training and simulation systems for Spain under the Hurjet project.

He also underlined the growing importance of multi-domain operations, saying Havelsan has developed software designed to support joint operational environments across air, land and maritime domains.

Nacar also said that Havelsan uses its proprietary AI infrastructure, MAIN, to develop closed-loop AI systems tailored to defense requirements and is pursuing international cooperation in this field with Nato partners.