Türkiye Will Start SİPER-2 Serial Production Next Year, Industry Minister Tells Parliament
Türkiye will begin serial production of the SİPER-2 long-range air and missile defence system next year, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır told parliament on Monday. “In Steel Dome, we will start serial production of the long-range air defence system SİPER-2 next year,” he said.
- Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır said on 2 November 2026: “We will start serial production of SİPER-2 next year”
- He spoke while presenting his ministry’s 2027 budget to the Grand National Assembly’s Plan and Budget Committee
- SİPER is a Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) project run by ASELSAN, ROKETSAN and TÜBİTAK SAGE
- Defence Turkey reported that the SİPER-2 serial production contract was signed on 29 October 2025, with deliveries targeted for 2027–2032
- Kacır also said defence and aerospace exports rose from $248 million in 2002 to more than $10 billion in 2025
What the minister said
Kacır made the remark on 2 November while presenting the Ministry of Industry and Technology’s 2027 budget to the Plan and Budget Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye. The quotes in this report are taken from the committee’s minutes, which the assembly publishes as an unreviewed transcript (TBMM minutes). State broadcaster TRT Haber reported the same statement (TRT Haber).
Kacır gave no further detail on SİPER-2’s production rate, the number of batteries or missiles, or a delivery date.
Where SİPER-2 stands
SİPER is the upper layer of Türkiye’s Steel Dome (Çelik Kubbe) air defence architecture. The SSB manages the project, and ASELSAN, ROKETSAN and TÜBİTAK SAGE develop it. ROKETSAN gives the SİPER Block-2 missile a range of 150 km. On 25 October the SSB and ROKETSAN announced a test in which a SİPER-2 missile was redirected to a new target in flight (our report).
The minister’s “next year” timeline needs to be read alongside earlier statements. Defence Turkey reported that the SSB signed the SİPER-2 serial production contract on 29 October 2025 and amended it at the SAHA 2026 exhibition to cover additional Air Force squadrons, batteries and missiles. The same report said deliveries were targeted for 2027–2032 (Defence Turkey). In October 2026, ASELSAN chief executive Ahmet Akyol said at the TURDEF exhibition that SİPER-2 had entered serial production. The officials did not say what each of them meant by “serial production”, and Defense and Tech has not been able to reconcile the two statements.
Other defence items in the speech
According to the minutes, Kacır said the GÖKSUR close-in air defence missile had been fired successfully from naval and land platforms. He said the integration of the AKYA heavyweight torpedo on Ay- and Preveze-class submarines had been completed. He also said the YELKOVAN electronic support system had been installed on offshore patrol vessels and had entered the Navy’s inventory.
He said 1,203 investment incentive certificates had been issued for defence projects since 2002, opening the way for 668 billion lira of fixed investment. In 2025, 80 defence R&D and design centres employing 28,000 people received 71 billion lira of support. He described a sector of more than 4,000 companies and research institutions with over 100,000 employees, and said defence and aerospace exports grew by 15.6% in the first nine months of 2026.
For a wider view of the sector, see our guide to the defence industry of Türkiye.
Sources: TBMM Plan and Budget Committee minutes, 2 November 2026 (unreviewed transcript); TRT Haber; SSB and ROKETSAN statements; Defence Turkey.
