The $1.1 billion export contract signed by ASELSAN with an international customer for the sale of air defense systems has taken the company's growth in the global market to a new stage.
The agreement, which is the largest single-item export contract in the company's history, revealed the accelerated export performance in 2026 as well as the potential of the technologies developed in Türkiye's layered air defense architecture in the international market.
In its statement to the Public Disclosure Platform, ASELSAN stated that an export contract worth a total of 1.1 billion dollars was signed with an international customer for the sale of air defense systems. Details regarding which country the agreement was made with, which systems it covers and the delivery schedule were not disclosed.
The contract is important as it shows the scale ASELSAN has reached in its export activities. While the total of new export contracts signed by the company in the 9-month period of 2026 reaches 1.9 billion dollars, the new agreement of 1.1 billion dollars alone corresponds to more than half of this amount. ASELSAN reached a new export volume of approximately 4.3 billion dollars this year with the new contracts announced after the 9-month balance sheet period.
ASELSAN made its largest single foreign sale with the $410 million contract it signed with Poland last year, covering the direct sale of electronic warfare systems.
It broke new records with two new export contracts signed in October this year. Contracts worth 442.5 million dollars for radar, UAV countermeasures and command control systems and 488.5 million euros for air defense systems have raised the bar in this field. The 1.1 billion dollar contract was the third record in terms of export contract size this year.
The weight of exports is increasing
One of the striking factors in ASELSAN's 2026 performance was the increasing weight of foreign sales in total revenues.
The company's revenue in the 9 months of the year increased by 28 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 151.5 billion lira. The amount of new export contracts signed in the same period increased by 34 percent, reaching 1.9 billion dollars. While the total amount of new business increased to $14 billion, the company's outstanding orders exceeded the $30 billion level for the first time in its history.
Realized foreign sales also revealed the role of exports in growth. In the 9 months of 2026, ASELSAN's foreign sales increased from approximately 11.1 billion lira to 26.9 billion lira in the same period last year. Thus, a 142.5 percent increase was recorded in international sales. The share of exports in total revenue increased from 9.4 percent to 17.7 percent.
The growth of foreign sales is also important in terms of diversifying income sources, delivering high-tech products to a wider customer base and increasing the production scale.
Demand for air defense systems is effective
Behind the rise in ASELSAN's export performance is the global demand for air defense, electronic warfare, radar, guided munitions and unmanned systems.
Recent conflicts, especially the Russia-Ukraine War, have increased the importance of air defense systems in countries' defense planning. The proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles and air threats moving at different altitudes and speeds is directing countries towards air defense architectures consisting of complementary layers rather than a single system.
This transformation requires not only interceptor missiles, but also radars that detect threats at an early stage, electro-optical sensors, command and control systems, electronic warfare solutions and close air defense weapons to work together.
ASELSAN's experience in the fields of radar, detection, electronic warfare, command control and weapon systems enables the company to offer solutions to these needs at different layers. In addition to single product sales, this approach also creates an opportunity for the export of integrated systems where multiple components are offered together.
Türkiye's engineering know-how and production capability gained through the development of domestic air defense systems are among the factors that strengthen ASELSAN's competitive opportunities in this market.
ÇELİKKUBBE components add strength to exports
One of ASELSAN's prominent advantages in air defense exports is that it has a wide product family that can respond to different threat types and operational needs.
HİSAR family in short and medium altitude air defense, GÜRZ in hybrid solutions combining barreled and missile-based weapons, and KORKUT in close air defense are among the prominent systems. Early warning and tracking radars, electronic warfare solutions, command and control infrastructures and technologies developed against unmanned aerial vehicles complete ASELSAN's product ecosystem in the field of air defense.
These capabilities, developed within the scope of Türkiye's ÇELİKKUBBE approach, are based on the operation of different sensors and weapon systems within a common architecture. Thus, air defense is considered not only as a weapon system that interferes with the target, but as an integrated capability that brings together detection, diagnosis, tracking, decision-making and engagement processes.
Export of air defense systems also has the potential to create long-term business relationships. Such systems are not only limited to initial delivery, but can also create ongoing needs in areas such as training, maintenance, spare parts, software updates, modernization and system integration. This may allow exports to be supported with new contracts over time.
