It All Started With a Radio: How ASELSAN Built a $30.7 Billion Order Book
When a fighter, drone or armoured vehicle appears on screen, the hull or airframe gets all the attention. But what allows it to communicate, see its surroundings and connect with other units? Very often the answer is ASELSAN. Our new documentary follows how a Turkish company created to build radios grew into a defense electronics business with a $30.7 billion order backlog.
Key facts
- Founded in 1975 to meet the communications needs of the Turkish Armed Forces
- First Ministry of Defense contract in 1978 covered more than 10,000 radios
- First radio export, to Belgium, in 1983
- Portfolio now includes MURAD AESA radars, KORAL electronic warfare, ASELFLIR and CATS electro-optics, and KORKUT air defense
- First nine months of 2026: revenue of 151.5 billion Turkish lira and an order backlog of $30.7 billion
Why a radio company mattered
A radio looks modest next to a fighter jet, yet every operation depends on messages reaching the right people reliably. Building that equipment at home meant learning requirements, producing consistent hardware and supporting it in the field. That foundation, combining electronics, software and production discipline, is what later carried ASELSAN into avionics, including work linked to the F-16.
Radar and electronic warfare, without the hype
The MURAD family of active electronically scanned array radars steers its beam electronically, but real capability depends on processing, power, cooling and integration. The KORAL family works on electronic support and electronic attack against radars. The documentary is careful here: no single vehicle can simply switch off every opposing defense. Results depend on conditions and details that are not public.
The sensor inside someone else’s drone
ASELSAN often supplies the eyes and ears rather than the platform itself. Its electro-optical systems may sit on a drone built by a different manufacturer. Air defense, too, is a network of surveillance, command, communications and weapons, and ASELSAN works across several layers of it.
The next test
Revenue and backlog measure different things and should not be added together. The real challenge is turning commitments into delivered, working equipment while keeping quality high as production grows.
Watch the full series
This article accompanies our documentary on YouTube. The complete Defense Company Documentaries series follows eight of the best-known defense and aerospace companies, from Lockheed Martin and RTX to ASELSAN and HAVELSAN. Subscribe to DefenseandTech on YouTube so you don’t miss the next episode.
Editorial reference date: 2 November 2026. Figures come from company reports published by that date.
