Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol has announced that the TOLUN family of precision-guided munitions is now in robotic serial production, with combined monthly output across the different variants reaching into the thousands.
Why it matters
- Alongside a bunker-penetrating variant capable of breaching more than one meter of concrete, fragmenting-effect, laser seeker and imaging infrared (IIR) versions are all in serial production.
- New longer-range, powered variants that can be launched from both ground and air platforms are under development.
- Deliveries for the Steel Dome layered air defense architecture continue, and the company's capacity-expansion investments have exceeded $3 billion.
Akyol said the goal with the TOLUN family is to combine high accuracy and long range with cost-effectiveness. Under the Steel Dome program, roughly 100 system elements were delivered last year, while this year radars, air defense systems and software are planned to be deployed across Turkey. As part of the investment program exceeding $3 billion, the first section of the new Oğulbey facility came online in July, with additional plants set to open at three-month intervals. The company now employs more than 10,000 engineers, with total headcount approaching 15,000.
Why it matters for Turkey
High-volume domestic production of guided munitions is critical for the Turkish Air Force's sustained firepower and stockpile depth, reducing dependence on foreign suppliers for precision strike. Continued air defense exports to friendly nations also strengthen both the supply resilience and the export arm of the Turkish defense industry, one of the country's fastest-growing industrial sectors.
Source: TRT Haber