Inside Aselsan’s push to shape future air defense systems and smart munitions at EDEX 2025.

Turkey’s defense electronics giant Aselsan used the EDEX 2025 show in Cairo to spotlight its Steel Dome air defense network, drone sensors, and new guided weapons, CEO Ahmet Akyol said in an interview. The push underlines Ankara’s bid to become a full-spectrum supplier for Middle East and African militaries, with systems that could also plug into NATO style air and missile defense architectures.

Speaking on the sidelines of Egypt’s EDEX 2025 defense exhibition in Cairo, Aselsan chief executive Ahmet Akyol described a strategy that spans secure communications, electronic warfare, uncrewed systems and a new integrated air defense concept branded Steel Dome, now being rolled out around Ankara. He framed the Middle East and North Africa as a priority export region, citing closer Turkish Egyptian ties and a growing portfolio of co-production projects with Egyptian industry, while positioning Aselsan as a NATO interoperable supplier for customers who want modern sensors, data links, and precision weapons without relying solely on U.S. or European primes.
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Aselsan now positions itself as one of the more influential industrial actors in Europe and at international level, with a catalogue of complete systems suited to the current requirements of multi-domain warfare. (Picture source: Army Recognition)

Secure communication solutions, electronic-warfare systems, optronic pods, modular guidance-kits and tank-modernization programmes are among the most requested segments in Aselsan’s portfolio. The group also highlights its air-defense offer built around the Steel Dome concept, available for export. This broad range reflects Ankara’s intention to position itself as an integrated supplier covering all critical functions of command, detection, and engagement.

Uncrewed platforms occupy an increasingly important place in this strategy. Aselsan is one of the main partners in the Turkish drone ecosystem, in particular alongside Baykar. The company’s airborne radars, electro-optical sensors, data-links, electronic-warfare systems, and guided munitions already equip many UAVs operating in several countries. These radars provide detection ranges on the order of one hundred kilometers, and the optronic pods allow identification and laser designation at several tens of kilometers.

Ahmet Akyol emphasized the breakthrough achieved with Bayraktar Kizilelma, Türkiye’s first uncrewed fighter aircraft. During a test off the coast of Sinop, this UAV made aviation history by becoming the first drone in the world to successfully fire a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile against a jet-powered target aircraft. This autonomous engagement confirms the ability of an uncrewed platform to engage a fast aircraft at long range, using an AESA radar, a secure data-link, and autonomous guidance up to interception. In this field, Aselsan provides the radars, the Identification Friend or Foe system (IFF), the ISR sensors, the communication links, and the guidance solutions that make this type of operation possible.

The rise of Bayraktar drones reinforces this dynamic. These UAVs have gained a place on the export market through the integration of locally developed sensors, links, and munitions. This technological base supports the entry into service of future uncrewed combat systems, including Kizilelma, designed to combine substantial payload, AESA radar, optronics, and secure data-links.

Guidance kits form another pillar of Aselsan’s offer. The Guided Kit Family aims to increase autonomy, accuracy and cost-effectiveness for air forces by converting unguided bombs into precision munitions. The new KGK-84 model enables the carriage of a 1,000 kg bomb without propulsion, and provides long-range engagements with a circular error probable of a few meters. This family includes different variants, including penetrating and aerodynamic versions adapted to the operational needs of both UAVs and combat aircraft. According to the CEO, international interest in these solutions is increasing significantly.

The Tolun family follows the same logic. These compact guided munitions are designed to maximise the number of targets engaged per sortie by combining accuracy, resistance to jamming and modularity. Tolun can be certified on various aircraft and UAVs, while the Tolun-S variant allows ground-launch for forces that do not have suitable air platforms.

Solutions for main battle tanks complement this portfolio. Several hundred Turkish, German, and American platforms have been upgraded with thermal imagers, proximity radars, fire-control computers, and protection systems developed by Aselsan. These systems improve firing accuracy, survivability, and the ability to detect threats, particularly new-generation tactical drones. An active-protection system provides omnidirectional radar warning, and can neutralise an incoming projectile at short distance through a kinetic effect.

Air defense is also a major area of investment. For around twenty years, Aselsan has developed successive building-blocks ranging from neutralisation lasers to multifunction radars, as well as control units and optronic sensors. This process has led to a complete set of systems covering short, medium and long ranges. Following its analysis of contemporary conflicts, the company designed the Steel Dome concept, which is planned for deployment around Ankara, forming an integrated defensive bubble linked to an air-command system. Steel Dome is also offered to international customers, as part of Aselsan’s export-ready air-defense catalogue.

The group now positions itself as one of the more influential industrial actors in Europe and at the international level, with a catalogue of complete systems suited to the current requirements of multi-domain warfare. The full video of Ahmet Akyol’s interview, recorded by Army Recognition during the EDEX 2025 exhibition, is available at the bottom of this article.