Air defense isn't just about buying missiles anymore. It's about building an entire digital umbrella that connects radars, electronic warfare, and interceptors into one thinking organism. Turkey learned this lesson the hard way after years of political friction over American Patriots and Russian S-400 systems. Now, they're taking matters into their own hands, and the scaling phase is happening faster than most observers expected.
Aselsan, the anchor of Turkey's defense electronics sector, is pushing its production into overdrive. The company's leadership just confirmed a massive ramp-up for 2026, aiming to push product deliveries past the 400,000-unit threshold across its entire portfolio. A massive chunk of that momentum is flowing directly into the "Çelik Kubbe" or Steel Dome, Turkey’s indigenous, multi-layered air defense network.
This isn't a minor production tweak. We're looking at a 50% jump in component deliveries for the Steel Dome framework this year alone. If you've been watching Turkey's steady march toward defense independence, this 2026 surge signals the transition from experimental testing to full-scale, nationwide deployment.
The Reality Behind the Production Numbers
To understand why this shift matters, you have to look at the sheer scale of what's being built. In late 2025, Aselsan’s General Manager, Ahmet Akyol, noted that the company delivered 47 core components to the Turkish Armed Forces. For 2026, that target has expanded dramatically, with plans to deliver over 100 integrated systems and major sub-assemblies to the military.
The driving force behind this surge is a massive wave of capital investment. During the first quarter of 2026, Aselsan reported a staggering 261% increase in serial production investments, reaching $137 million. They managed to burn through half of their previous year's total investment budget in just the first three months of this year.
Much of this infrastructure spending centers on the Oğulbey Technology Base. Billed as the largest single defense industry investment in the history of the Turkish Republic, this facility is being built specifically to handle the high-volume production of advanced radar and missile defense electronics. With the first phase scheduled to go online in the second half of 2026, the company is finally getting the physical footprint it needs to match its massive $20.7 billion order backlog.
Breaking Down the Layers of the Dome
The Steel Dome isn't a single weapon system. It's a "system of systems" that stitches together entirely different weapon platforms operating at different altitudes and ranges. The goal is simple: ensure that if a threat slips through the outer layer, the next layer is already locked on.
At the very short-range layer, the focus is on mobile, rapid-fire protection for ground forces and critical sites. This is where systems like the Korkut-25 and Korkut-35 automatic cannon platforms operate, specifically optimized to shred low-altitude threats, helicopters, and kamikaze drones.
Moving up to the intermediate tactical layer, the Gürz 200B system combines both missile and gun architectures on a single mobile platform. It’s designed to intercept cruise missiles and precision-guided munitions before they get anywhere near their targets.
For long-range, strategic defense, the heavy lifting falls on the Hisar and Siper missile networks. The Siper system integrates massive early-warning radars and advanced surface-to-air missiles to shield infrastructure from high-altitude threats and ballistic targets. Aselsan is currently working on upgraded variants of Siper in 2026 to push its detection and engagement ranges even further.
The Electronic Warfare Edge
Most people look at missile launchers when they think of air shields. That's a mistake. The real magic of the Steel Dome lies in its sensor network and electronic warfare integration, which distinguishes it from traditional systems.
An air defense network is only as good as its eyes. Aselsan is rapidly scaling production of its large-scale early warning radars, like the Alp low-altitude defense radar. These sensors feed real-time tracking data into an artificial intelligence-supported command-and-control software developed entirely by Turkish engineers. This AI brain automatically evaluates threats, prioritizes targets, and assigns them to the correct weapon system in a fraction of a second.
Then there is the soft-kill capability. Turkey is heavily embedding electronic warfare assets into the fabric of the Steel Dome. Systems like the Koral 200 mobile radar electronic warfare suite and the Puhu system allow the military to blind enemy radar, jam communication links, and hijack drone guidance systems without firing a single kinetic missile. For newer, asymmetric threats, they're deploying the Ejderha anti-UAV system and the Gökberk mobile laser weapon, offering a nearly infinite magazine to burn down incoming drone swarms at a fraction of the cost of a traditional missile interceptor.
Why This Matters Beyond Turkey's Borders
While the immediate goal is securing Anatolian airspace, the 2026 production boom has massive implications for the global defense market. Aselsan isn't just a domestic supplier; it has quietly transformed into an export powerhouse operating across 25 countries and selling into more than 93 markets.
In the first quarter of 2026, the company's new export contracts jumped by 69% to $629 million. Nations across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe are watching the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and realizing that traditional, fragmented air defense networks are obsolete against modern drone saturated tactics. They want integrated, layered systems, and Turkey is one of the few nations currently mass-producing a comprehensive blueprint.
Furthermore, these Steel Dome components aren't restricted to land installations. The same radar technology, electronic warfare sensors, and close-in weapon systems form the defensive backbone of Turkey’s expanding naval fleet, with components being integrated into over 40 domestic naval vessels and exported to international shipyards.
If you are an international procurement official or a defense analyst, the takeaway here is clear: watch the execution of the Oğulbey facility rollout in the coming months. If Aselsan hits its 400,000-unit delivery target by winter, Turkey will have cemented itself as a fully self-reliant defense hub, completely rewriting the procurement dynamics of the region.
