Turkish defense companies signed $6.5 billion worth of contracts to reinforce and develop Turkey's integrated, multi-layered 'Steel Dome' air defense system, the Turkish Defence Industries Presidency (SSB) said on Wednesday.
NATO member Turkey, which in recent years has significantly ramped up its defense industry production and reduced dependence on external suppliers, first announced plans to build its Steel Dome - similar to Israel's Iron Dome system - in July 2024.
The project comprises 47 components, including radars, missiles, electro-optical sensors, command and control centers, and air defense elements with different ranges.
Israeli strikes unnerve Ankara
Strikes by Israel - the Middle East's most advanced military with hundreds of US-supplied F-15, F-16 ,and F-35 fighters - on Turkey's neighbors Iran and Syria, as well as on Lebanon and Qatar, unnerved Ankara in the last year and pushed it to ramp up air power and air defense to counter any possible threats.
Turkey has also become a leading manufacturer and exporter of armed drones, with these being used in conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and across Africa.
In a statement, SSB Chairman Haluk Gorgun said the contracts included combat systems and their advanced versions, which would be developed by Roketsan, adding that the 'Steel Dome' would be made of fully domestic systems.
Gorgun said the contracts would help increase Turkey’s deterrence, while also contributing to efforts to increase the range and scope of its combat systems.
The chairmen of defense firms Aselsan and Roketsan said the contracts were of "strategic importance," and added they included space and air defense systems, anti-tank systems, and other strategic systems.
Turkey has long said it is working to build up its defenses, including long-range missiles, although officials and analysts say the Steel Dome project is years away.
Gorgun said Turkey was now among the world's top defense exporters.