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Türkiye’s $6.5B Multi-Layered Steel Dome Expansion Sets New Benchmarks in Regional Air Defence.
Türkiye has signed approximately 6.5 billion dollars in new contracts with ASELSAN, Roketsan and HAVELSAN to push its indigenous Steel Dome architecture into large-scale serial production, significantly strengthening its layered air and missile defence posture and further reducing dependence on foreign suppliers
On November 26, 2025, Türkiye formalised a new series of defence contracts worth around 6.5 billion dollars to reinforce its integrated “Steel Dome” air defence architecture, marking one of the largest single investments ever made in the country’s air and missile defence. The agreements, signed under the coordination of the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) with leading firms including ASELSAN, Roketsan and HAVELSAN, aim to move the project from concept to large-scale serial production of missiles, radars and command systems. Framed against escalating regional tensions and renewed debates over the vulnerability of critical infrastructure, the move is designed to close gaps in Türkiye’s low-, medium- and high-altitude defence layers and to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers. The announcement, which confirms the economic magnitude and technological ambition of Steel Dome, was reported by Anadolu Agency as a qualitative step in Ankara’s long-term air defence strategy.
Türkiye has signed about 6.5 billion dollars in new contracts with ASELSAN, Roketsan and HAVELSAN to launch large-scale serial production of its Steel Dome system, strengthening its layered air and missile defence while reducing reliance on foreign suppliers (Picture Source: Aselsan)
At the heart of the Steel Dome programme is a multi-layered air and missile defence architecture designed to fuse dozens of domestically developed sensors and effectors into a single national network. Figures presented by Aselsan indicate that Steel Dome will ultimately integrate 47 distinct components spanning ALP-series ground-based surveillance and early-warning radars, electro-optical and electronic-intelligence systems, naval and land-based sensors, as well as short-, medium- and long-range surface-to-air missile batteries, mobile air defence vehicles, electronic warfare suites and command-and-control centres. Recent deliveries into this architecture include Hisar-O and Siper systems, with Siper Block I already fielded and Block II approaching deployment, alongside GÜRZ multi-role air defence units, Korkut self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicles, ALP radar platforms, and Puhu and Redet electronic warfare systems, illustrating the intent to cover the full spectrum of threats from low-flying drones and rockets to cruise missiles and high-altitude aircraft. The new contracts extend this logic by financing not only additional batches of existing systems but also advanced versions of Roketsan offensive missiles, complementary air and space defence capabilities and anti-tank systems, all of which will be produced within Türkiye’s defence industrial base.
As detailed in an exclusive Army Recognition report published on 10 October 2025 following Aselsan’s Steel Dome press day at Gölbaşı on 7 October 2025, this “system of systems” is orchestrated around a common C4ISR backbone, notably the HAKIM airspace command-and-control family, HAKIM 100/RAD radar-network management tools and mission networks such as TURAN and T-LINK, which fuse sensor data, distribute a recognised air picture and assign weapons across four nested defensive “bubbles” from close-area to strategic air and missile defence. Designed from the outset for NATO interoperability, Steel Dome is positioned to integrate allied assets, including systems such as Patriot, within the same detect–decide–intercept continuum and has been selected as one of five industrial solutions contributing to NATO’s Modular Air Defense Project, with open, modular, plug-and-fight interfaces intended to knit together national and coalition sensors, C2 nodes and effectors. During the Ankara event, which Army Recognition attended, met with Aselsan leadership and from which it reported extensively, the company emphasized AI-assisted decision support to match each threat with the most appropriate and cost-effective hard- or soft-kill effector, reflecting a broader ambition to move Europe’s air defence posture away from isolated point solutions toward a coherent, alliance-compatible architecture.
The operational framework of the Steel Dome system reflects nearly a decade of Turkish investment in layered air defense and lessons drawn from regional conflicts. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan first introduced Steel Dome in October 2024 as Türkiye’s national counterpart to Israel’s Iron Dome, emphasizing the need for self-reliant protection of national airspace rather than dependence on allied systems. This announcement built upon a long-standing developmental trajectory encompassing programs such as the Hisar family, Siper, Korkut, Sungur man-portable systems, the GÖKDENİZ naval close-in weapon system, and, more recently, the GÖKBERK mobile laser platform for countering FPV drones. The distinct contribution of Steel Dome lies in its integration function, linking these diverse capabilities through a unified command, control, and communication network managed by HAVELSAN and ASELSAN. This interconnected structure provides a coherent operational picture and harmonized engagement rules across all command levels. Valued at 6.5 billion dollars, the initiative transforms what was once a collection of separate projects into a coordinated, long-term defense architecture, paving the way for serial production and enabling the Turkish Armed Forces to deploy a robust network of sensors and interceptors in the coming years.
Compared with other multi-layered systems, Steel Dome stands out less for any single “flagship” interceptor than for the breadth of indigenous technologies orchestrated through a common C4ISR backbone. As presented during Aselsan’s press day at Gölbaşı, which Army Recognition attended, the architecture is built around HAKIM airspace command-and-control services, HAKIM 100/RAD radar-network management tools and mission networks such as TURAN and T-LINK, fusing data from ALP early-warning radars, naval sensors including GÖKDENİZ and GÖKSUR 100N, land-based surveillance systems, electronic warfare suites and unmanned platforms into a single detect–decide–intercept chain. Israel’s Iron Dome, often cited as a reference, has demonstrated high effectiveness against short-range rockets and artillery but was initially conceived as a relatively narrow-band solution, later complemented by David’s Sling and Arrow for higher-altitude threats. By contrast, Ankara’s concept from the outset combines point defence assets such as Korkut, Sungur and GÖKDENİZ with medium-range interceptors like Hisar-O and long-range Siper batteries, supported by active electronically scanned array radars, passive sensors, electronic warfare capabilities and emerging directed-energy options including mobile laser systems.
This layered approach is closer to Western integrated air and missile defence architectures based on Patriot, THAAD or SAMP/T, but with one key distinction: Steel Dome is being designed, produced and integrated almost entirely within Türkiye’s defence industrial base, while remaining NATO-interoperable and compliant with alliance standards. In practice, this gives Ankara greater autonomy over rules of engagement, export conditions and upgrade cycles than users of foreign-supplied systems typically enjoy, while still allowing allied assets such as Patriot batteries to be plugged into the same architecture under NATO’s Modular Air Defense Project framework, as highlighted in Army Recognition’s exclusive reporting.
Beyond the technical dimension, the strategic implications of these contracts are considerable for Türkiye and for the wider region. Israeli air operations against Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Qatar, as well as the war in Ukraine and drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea, have all highlighted how quickly air and missile threats are evolving and how saturated attack profiles can overwhelm legacy systems. By accelerating the deployment of a dense and predominantly national air defence shield, Ankara is signalling that it intends to deter not only state-level air campaigns but also the growing threat posed by cruise missiles, loitering munitions and swarms of small drones to its cities, bases and energy infrastructure. At the same time, the contracts consolidate Türkiye’s position as a top-ten global exporter of defence products and a key provider of drones, missiles and sensors to partners from Ukraine to the Caucasus and Africa, suggesting that elements of Steel Dome could in time be offered in modular form to friendly states seeking their own layered defence solutions. For NATO, the emergence of a largely homegrown Turkish integrated air defence network on the Alliance’s south-eastern flank will add both depth and complexity: it strengthens the overall air picture and intercept capability in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, while also reinforcing Ankara’s strategic autonomy at a moment when debates on burden-sharing and technology transfer within the Alliance are particularly sensitive.
This recent $6.5 billion series of contracts represents far more than a mere industrial achievement; it firmly establishes Steel Dome as a foundational element of Türkiye’s enduring defense strategy and a clear demonstration of its resolve to assert sovereign control over its airspace through indigenous capabilities. While the system’s full operational deployment, testing, and doctrinal integration will extend over several years, the extensive political, financial, and industrial backing significantly mitigates the risk of Steel Dome remaining a conceptual initiative. Instead, it now constitutes a concrete pathway toward a sovereign, export-capable, and multi-layered air and missile defense architecture. This development will be closely observed not only by Türkiye’s regional neighbors but also by allies and competitors evaluating shifts in the regional balance of power.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.