ASFAT: Türkiye’s Military Factory and Shipyard Company, Programmes and Exports (2026)

ASFAT is the state company that runs Türkiye’s military factories and naval shipyards and turns them into exporters. Founded in 2018 under the Ministry of National Defence, it has quickly become one of the most important shipbuilders in the Turkish defense industry. It built MİLGEM corvettes for Pakistan, delivered the first Turkish warship to a NATO ally and is now building the TF-2000 air defence destroyer and the national submarine MİLDEN. It also maintains aircraft, from F-16s to A400Ms, and makes land systems such as howitzers and mine-clearing vehicles.

Key facts

Full name: Askeri Fabrika ve Tersane İşletme A.Ş. (Military Factory and Shipyard Management Inc.)
Founded: 12 January 2018
Ownership: 100% Ministry of National Defence
Headquarters: Ankara
General manager: Mustafa İlbaş (since 2025)
Scope: military factories and naval shipyards, including Istanbul Naval Shipyard, plus air maintenance factories in Eskişehir, Kayseri and Ankara
Portfolio: about 150 projects worth about $5 billion (2025)
Flagship programmes: Pakistan MİLGEM corvettes, Hisar-class OPVs, TF-2000 destroyer, MİLDEN submarine, A400M retrofit

Overview

ASFAT (Askeri Fabrika ve Tersane İşletme A.Ş.) was created to modernise the Turkish armed forces’ own production base and to market its capabilities abroad. Before 2018 the military factories and naval shipyards worked mainly as maintenance and production units inside the armed forces. ASFAT gave them a commercial structure that can sign export contracts, form joint ventures and compete with private firms.

The company is wholly owned by the Ministry of National Defence and is based in Ankara. In 2025 its management said it was running about 150 projects with a combined value of about $5 billion, and that it aimed to multiply revenue fivefold within five years. ASFAT does not publish detailed financial results. It appeared on the Defense News Top 100 list in earlier years as the youngest Turkish entrant but was not among the five Turkish companies in the 2026 edition. The company has declared 2026 its “sales and marketing year”, and it showed about 80 products in new catalogues at SAHA 2026.

History

ASFAT was established on 12 January 2018. Its task was to take over the management of military factories and shipyards and run export-oriented projects. Within months it won the deal that defined it. In 2018 Pakistan ordered four MİLGEM-class corvettes, with two to be built at Istanbul Naval Shipyard and two at Karachi Shipyard with technology transfer. The Ministry of National Defence called it the largest single defence export in the Republic’s history at the time. The contract also included cooperation on the design of Pakistan’s Jinnah-class frigates.

In the following years ASFAT took on the design and construction of the Hisar-class offshore patrol vessels, the Turkish Navy’s floating submarine dock and work on major new warship projects. In 2025 it was named builder of the TF-2000 destroyer and became main contractor for the national submarine MİLDEN. In the same period it expanded its aircraft maintenance business, gaining Airbus certification for A400M retrofit work.

What ASFAT does

Shipbuilding

Naval work is ASFAT’s largest business. Istanbul Naval Shipyard has built the Pakistani MİLGEM corvettes and the first Hisar-class OPVs, and it held the steel-cutting ceremony for the TF-2000 destroyer. TF-2000 is a 149-metre air defence destroyer with 96 vertical launch cells and an ASELSAN radar suite. Launch is planned around 2028 and delivery by 2030. MİLDEN is a national submarine of about 80 metres and 2,700 tonnes, with delivery targeted for the 2030s. A 3,000-tonne floating submarine dock entered service in 2024. For context on the fleet these ships join, see how many warships Türkiye has and how many submarines Türkiye has.

Aircraft maintenance

ASFAT runs the air force’s maintenance factories: the 1st Air Maintenance Factory in Eskişehir for fighters, the 2nd in Kayseri for transport aircraft, home to an A400M retrofit centre, and the 5th in Ankara for helicopters. It works on Türkiye’s A400M fleet and has held talks with other operators of the A400M and C-130.

Land systems

The company’s land factories produce and modernise vehicles and weapons. Its products include the PANTER/ARPAN 155 mm 8×8 wheeled howitzer, a six-barrel minigun shown at IDEF 2025 and the MEMATT mine-clearing vehicle, which has been exported to Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso and Togo.

Exports and international deals

Pakistan remains ASFAT’s showcase. The first ship, PNS Babur, was handed over in 2023 and PNS Khaibar, the second built in Istanbul, followed in December 2025. The two ships built in Karachi, PNS Badr and PNS Tariq, are due in late 2026 and early 2027. The programme has deepened defence ties between the two countries, as reflected in our report on the Türkiye-Qatar-Pakistan-Indonesia defence pact.

Romania became the second big naval customer. In a government-to-government deal coordinated by ASFAT, it bought the Hisar-class ship originally built as TCG Akhisar for about €223 million, plus about €42 million for Romanian modifications. The ship was handed over as Contraamiral Roman in June 2026, in a double ceremony with the Turkish Navy’s TCG Koçhisar. It is reported as Türkiye’s first warship export to a NATO ally. ASFAT has also set up an Iraqi joint venture, AYDA Integrated Defence Systems, with YDA Group, and has discussed naval projects with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The company was named Türkiye’s top exporter of military naval platforms for 2024 and says it held that position again in 2025.

Recent contracts and news (2025-2026)

At IDEF in July 2025, ASFAT signed contracts to build the first TF-2000 destroyer and four more Hisar-class OPVs, the latter with a 36-month build time. In 2025 it also became main contractor for MİLDEN. In December 2025 PNS Khaibar was delivered to Pakistan. In June 2026 it delivered TCG Koçhisar to the Turkish Navy and Contraamiral Roman to Romania. In the aviation field, a Senegalese aircraft arrived in Kayseri for maintenance in 2026. At SAHA 2026 the company launched catalogues of about 80 products to support its export drive.

Role in the Turkish defense industry

ASFAT sits between the armed forces and private industry. It gives the state a builder for the most complex warships, such as destroyers and submarines, where private yards lack the scale or security clearance. It also uses decades of military factory know-how to compete for exports. Together with STM on design and private yards such as Sedef, Anadolu and Dearsan, it forms the core of Türkiye’s naval industrial base. Its land and aviation units complement companies like MKE.

Outlook

ASFAT’s next five years will be dominated by TF-2000 and MİLDEN, the most demanding warships ever attempted in Türkiye, alongside the remaining Hisar-class OPVs and the last Pakistani corvettes. Export growth will depend on turning its Romanian and Pakistani successes into new orders in Europe, the Gulf and Africa. The main risks are the sheer workload at its shipyards, schedule pressure on first-of-class ships and competition from private Turkish yards.