TR Turkish Defense Industry Companies

mTT

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Arca should have invested a lot more in R&D. No advanced explosive production, no fuze production, no new product development. They are just producing vanilla products. Assan invests heavily in advanced capabilities and develops new projects.



ASSAN Group continues to fill explosive materials for warheads and rocket engines at the Warhead & Rocket Engine Production and Filling Facility (GEPAT) located in the production area established in Bolu/Gerede campus, as well as fuel and explosive development activities in R&D laboratories.

• Energetic Material Synthesis R&D Laboratory
• Large Scale RDX And HMX Production Line
• TNT Filling Plant for MK Series and 155 mm Artillery
• Rocket Engine Testing
• Rocket Assembly Infrastructure
• Environmental Test Infrastructure
• Smart Ammunition Assembly and Integration
• 9&6 MeV X-Ray Non-Destructive Testing Infrastructure

Product Spectrum:
• HMX, RDX, AP (Pilot production of 60-100 Kg/day)
• C4 (60 tones/year)

Filling Capacity per year:
• 4 tones per a day (cure cast/ PBXN & Thermobaric)
• MK Series Aircraft Bomb Filling (26.000 pcs. /year)
• Artillery and Mortar Ammunition Filling

Future Capacity:
• 155 mm Artillery Shell [360.00 pcs. /by 2025]
• TNT filling capability (2025) (10 tones/day)
• Annual HMX&RDX production (1.250 tones RDX/year, 350 tones HMX/year)

Assan has a project to develop 56km and 72km next generation 155mm artillery shells and it will be no surprise if Assan develops artillery rockets with bigger diameter. I think they can develop artillery rockets up to 300mm diameter without a problem. Assan also develops the Gökkurt smart ammunition family.

What do you mean?

Assan exporting all its production is a good thing, it will grow faster.
 

Sanchez

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MKE, on the other hand, does not have commercial concerns and fulfills a public duty.
Untrue, it's an A.Ş. now. They are profit driven.

I don't want to jump the gun and play the blame game before knowing reasons, but it's still fishy.
 

mTT

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Untrue, it's an A.Ş. now. They are profit driven.

MKEK's transformation into a joint-stock company is not solely for profit-making, but to benefit from the advantages that anonymous company status provides.

The main reasons for this transformation were:
  1. Qualified Human Resources Employment (TOP PRIORITY)
  2. Liberation from Public Legislation Constraints
  3. Gaining Competitive Competency
  4. Overseas Operations Authority
  5. Financial Independence
  6. Structural Guarantee (Privatization Protection)

The profit motive is just a means, not the end goal. The real objective is: To achieve a modern, flexible and competitive structure in order to meet Turkey's defense industry needs most effectively.

 
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what

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Very fishy indeed and no details provided on why?
 

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Sanchez

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One has to wonder, did they acquire it for expertise or for customer requirements from EU countries.
 

Fuzuli NL

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One has to wonder, did they acquire it for expertise or for customer requirements from EU countries.
Smart move since NATO member countries are under pressure to increase their defence expenditure in relation to their GDP.
Gaps could always be filled with munition purchases.
 

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ASELSAN is strengthening its presence in Eastern Europe and the Balkans as part of its export-oriented growth strategy.

The IDEF 2025 International Defense Industry Fair opened a window of opportunity for ASELSAN to increase its influence in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

Within this scope, a contract was signed during IDEF, foreseeing a partnership with Excalibur. The agreement was signed by ASELSAN CEO Ahmet Akyol and Excalibur International CEO Miloš Šivara.

The contract is also expected to lay the groundwork for cooperation between ASELSAN and Excalibur not only in Eastern Europe but also in various regions around the world.

The planned partnership involves cooperation between ASELSAN and Excalibur in the field of land vehicles and tank modernization. The agreement includes the production of remote-controlled weapon systems, modernization of smart fuzes and ammunition, and the development of border security systems.

 

Strong AI

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Assan is given a 2 year ban from public tenders. Fishy.


Former MKE Chairman of the Board İsmet Sayhan, who also previously served as MKE’s legal director, took on the legal representation of ASSAN—a company banned from public tenders for failing to fulfill its obligations to MKE—and filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of National Defense.

It has been learned that MKE filed a criminal complaint with the bar association against İsmet Sayhan, who, in his former senior executive role, had access to all of MKE's trade secrets and has now filed a lawsuit against both MKE and the Ministry of National Defense.

 

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Bankruptcy protection application from the defense industry company FEMSAN, which works with ASELSAN and Roketsan.


Mogeser and MOPA Industrial, which are owned by the same shareholders as FEMSAN, are seeking concordat due to financial difficulties. The court granted a 3-month temporary stay to the companies involved in important projects of major firms such as ASELSAN and Roketsan. The next court hearing will take place in October.
 

Strong AI

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Under the Shadow of War, a Scam: Defense Companies Caused Ukraine Hundreds of Millions in Losses

Serious fraud allegations involving companies in Ukraine's defense procurement processes during the most critical days of the war have hit the headlines like a bombshell.
Among the companies accused of causing $10.8 million in losses to the Ukrainian state is ASSAN Group, which is also banned from public tenders in Turkey.
It has emerged that Ukraine, which has been trying to meet urgent equipment needs in its war with Russia for over a year, was unable to fulfill some of its contracts with defense industry companies.
According to widely circulated claims in the Ukrainian press, some Turkish companies, despite receiving large advance payments, either never delivered the promised military equipment or sent incomplete and low-quality products.

ASSAN Caused Millions in Losses to Ukraine

According to reports in Ukrainian media, the state defense company Spetsteknoeksport signed a $10.8 million contract with ASSAN Group on December 19, 2024.
Despite receiving a 100% advance payment without collateral under the agreement, the company failed to deliver the promised products on the specified dates. Deliveries were still not made even after Ukrainian authorities granted multiple deadline extensions.
As a result, it is reported that legal action against the company in the Ukrainian war crimes court is now on the agenda.
Senior ASSAN officials, reached by gdh, responded to the allegations by saying they would make a statement "if necessary."
The ASSAN Group incident is not the only problem Ukraine has faced with defense firms.

Ukraine Trusted, the Money Vanished!

Six defendants, including Murat Özvardar and Koray Altınel, were accused of receiving $5.1 million from the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs by promising to supply helmets, bulletproof vests, and weapons.
The defendants reportedly gained trust by claiming they had ties with “high-level Turkish officials” and then failed to deliver the equipment after receiving the advance.
They are being tried on charges of "qualified, serial fraud," with prison sentences of up to 22 years and 6 months being sought.
A similar situation occurred in 2023 with Patriam Defense Industry Ltd. Co.
The company, which promised to sell gunpowder to the Ukrainian government, received a $28.5 million advance. Its owner, Yahiç Berk, fled to Canada following the incident.
It was claimed that the company only made a partial delivery worth $756,000 under a $29.2 million arms and ammunition agreement signed with Ukrainian state company SE “RIC PCP” in 2023.
The Ukrainian side is reportedly pursuing a legal claim worth $37.42 million, including interest and penalties, for the undelivered goods valued at $28.46 million.

€850 Million Lost in Bulgaria

Procurement irregularities are not limited to Turkey.
Similar cases—on a much larger scale—have been reported in neighboring Bulgaria, with around €850 million said to have disappeared.
After the start of the Ukraine war, the number of firms in Bulgaria authorized for arms import-export increased a hundredfold, paving the way for an unregulated and opportunistic market.
One of these firms, Mimaltemer Ltd., alone reportedly caused a loss of €86.5 million to Ukraine through low-quality equipment and irregular financial transactions, according to investigation files.
These negative experiences have undermined trust in the strategic defense partnership between Turkey and Ukraine and have also prompted action from the Kyiv administration.
Ukraine aims to block such intermediary and opportunistic companies through new defense procurement agencies established for 2024–25 and the "Prozorro" tender system, which is designed to increase transparency.
Such incidents typically occur in projects where 100% advance payments are made without taking any collateral at the start.

 

TheInsider

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There is a mafia-style structure in the Turkish Defense Industry. Unfortunately, Assan is their target. First, they fired Gürcan Okumuş from Tübitak SAGE, now they are trying to destroy Assan. Assan adopted a strategy of growing with exports instead of the Turkish market because Assan knows this mafia won't allow them to get contracts in the Turkish market. Now, the mafia is trying to destroy that.
 

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