Turkish defence giant Aselsan has delivered 47 vehicles to the Turkish Armed Forces as part of the country’s new “Steel Dome” integrated air defence system.
The Wednesday’s delivery includes a mix of air defence, radar and electronic warfare systems, which will be deployed under the Steel Dome project — Türkiye’s multi-layered shield designed to strengthen protection against aerial threats.
"Today, we are providing our heroic army with the Sky Dome systems, consisting of a total of 47 vehicles worth $460 million, that will instil confidence in friends and fear in enemies," the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a groundbreaking ceremony in Ankara.
He added that with the Steel Dome air defence system, Türkiye will now be in "a different league" in air defence.
Described as the country’s “security umbrella” in the skies, the Steel Dome provides phased and integrated protection against low, medium and high-altitude threats through a wide range of national defence systems developed by Turkish defence firms.
One of these is Turkish defence firm Aselsan’s anti-aircraft gun Korkut, which meets the low-altitude defence needs of the Turkish Armed Forces as an effective, mobile, and quick system against threats.
The Hisar-A+ and Hisar-0+, developed by Aselsan and Roketsan, are domestically-made low and medium-altitude systems that provide effective protection against aircraft, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and helicopters.
Sage, the Siper air defence system developed in collaboration with Aselsan, Roketsan, and the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Institution (TUBITAK) is effective against high-altitude and long-range threats to protect critical facilities, military units, and cities against fighter jets, cruise and ballistic missiles, UAVs, and other air vehicles.
The Siper Blok 1 has already entered the Turkish Armed Forces’ inventory and work is underway for the development of Blok 2.
The Turkish defence industry has expanded the country’s air-to-air engagement capabilities with Roketsan’s shoulder-launched system Sungur to protect military units at low altitudes and TUBITAK’s Goktug missile that can be launched from aircraft platforms.
Aselsan and Roketsan’s laser-based high-precision systems, Gokberk and Alka, are next-generation products in the Turkish defence industry and are designed with an integrated architecture in mind.
The Gurz hybrid air defence system from Aselsan integrates missile, gun, and laser technologies, while other systems such as Goker, Gokdeniz, Goksur, and Roketsan’s Levent offer customised solutions based on similar integrated design principles.
The Turkish defence industry also continues to develop national technologies to neutralise threats at their source.
Roketsan’s MAM family of munitions, anti-tank systems OMTAS, UMTAS, and Karaok, guided rockets TRLG-122/230, IHA-122/230, and K+, and strategic missile systems Tayfun, Akya, Cakir, Atmaca, and SOM add to Türkiye’s operational effectiveness on the battlefield.
