Turkish Aselsan : The story of establishing the empire of defense industries with the donations of citizens
In light of the arms embargo imposed on Turkey due to the Cyprus peace process, and through the generous donations of Turkish citizens, the foundation stone of Turkey's largest defense industrial edifice was laid in order to put an end to foreign dependence in the defense industry, here is the story.
Media sources talk from time to time about the desire of important countries to buy stakes in the Aselsan company specialized in the development and manufacture of military electronics, the latest of which was reported by Bloomberg that “an Emirati delegation is looking in Ankara to buy a stake in the Turkish defense company Aselsan.”
For its part, Aselsan denied all that was reported by the local and international media, and indicated in a recently published statement that "there is no truth to the allegations that the company, which was founded with the donations of Turkish citizens, and in which the Turkish Armed Forces own the largest stake, that it will be sold to foreign investors."
Since its establishment in 1975 following the Cyprus peace process, Aselsan has continued to write its success story, which began with the manufacture of military radios and continued with the nationalization and localization of various equipment in the military field that enhanced the capabilities of the Turkish Armed Forces, as well as entering the military export markets by sharing its products with friendly and allied countries.
First spark
During the Cyprus peace process implemented by the Turkish Armed Forces by order of the then Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit in 1974, a Turkish ship was bombed by a friendly Turkish plane due to the weakness and malfunction of the foreign communication devices used by the Turkish forces at the time.
In the aftermath of the malfunction that exposed the weakness of the Friend-Identification System used by the Turkish Armed Forces, the need for the communications system to be entirely national emerged in order to avoid such errors in the future.
However, one of the main reasons that prompted Turkey to establish Aselsan as a manufacturer of radio and communications equipment was the arms embargo imposed on Turkey, which was completely dependent on foreign sources, and did not have a defense sector because of its dependence on NATO at the time.
Foundation
In light of the desire to localize the defense industries and the accompanying strong patriotic feelings, ASELSAN was established as a Turkish company concerned with developing and manufacturing military electronics and encrypted communication systems to meet the communication and communication needs of the Turkish army with pure national capabilities, in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on November 14, 1975.
Looking back at the early founding days, we come across many bone-chilling examples and sacrifices. During the establishment of Aselsan, in light of the Western embargo on Turkey and the accompanying severe crises that afflicted the Turkish economy, the Turks presented the greatest scenes of sacrifice in order to advance their country's military capabilities. There are citizens who sold their wedding rings and donated their prices, and there are farmers who donated the prices of their fields after they sold them. In addition to the bread sellers who could only find their jackets to sell and donate.
It is noteworthy that Aselsan is a public joint stock company, as the Turkish Armed Forces Corporation (TSKG) owns 74.2% of the company's shares, while 25.8% of the remaining shares are traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange BIST.
A track record of accomplishments
Today, Aselsan is considered the largest Turkish company specialized in the field of defense electronic industries, as it supplies the Turkish army with the latest war communication systems, modern and advanced radar devices and night vision systems, in addition to air defense systems, jamming and eavesdropping devices, and also produces remote control and command systems for vehicles and warplanes, as well as systems for remote control and command of vehicles and warplanes. Smart and guided munitions. It has also recently entered the fields of automation, traffic and health technologies.
Aselsan's ascent journey began after the completion of the construction of its facilities in Ankara in 1978, after it produced radio equipment for soldiers and tanks in 1980, which began to be exported abroad by 1983. While in 1987, Aselsan joined the NATO Joint Production Union, as it participated in Stinger missile production project.
Since the eighties of the last century, Aselsan has developed many security systems and technologies needed by the Turkish Armed Forces in military platforms such as drones, tanks, missiles, aircraft command and control systems, warships, etc., and to accomplish all this, it has employed the best Turkish minds to work on these promising national projects.
The budget of the company, which employs more than 9 thousand employees between engineers and qualified workers, amounted to approximately two billion and 172 million dollars in 2019, and while it spends 7% of total annual sales on research and development activities, it ranked 48th in the list of the top 100 defense industry companies in the world according to The American magazine ( Defense News Top 100 ) for the year 2020.
