Turkish Defense Giant Secures $2.8B in Defense Contracts

ASELSAN picture

Turkish Defense Giant Secures $2.8B in Defense Contracts

Türkiye’s leading defense electronics company, ASELSAN, reported strong financial performance for the first half of 2025, driven by continued demand in key military sectors and an increase in export activity.

According to the company’s financial report released this week, ASELSAN generated 53.7 billion Turkish Lira ($1.3 billion) in revenue during the first six months of the year-an 11.3% real increase compared to the same period in 2024, The Caspian Post reports citing foreign media.

The company attributed this growth to continued deliveries across multiple programs, including air defense, electronic warfare, radar systems, avionics, and advanced optics.

In a statement, ASELSAN CEO Ahmet Akyol said, “With the aselsaneXt program we launched in 2024, we had gained strong financial momentum. Our second-quarter results once again confirmed that we maintained this momentum in the first half of 2025.” He highlighted both strong domestic demand and international growth as key pillars of this performance.

Total new contract volume reached $2.8 billion during the period, reflecting a 10% year-on-year increase. Of that figure, $1.3 billion came from direct and indirect export agreements. ASELSAN’s backlog surged by 30%, reaching $16 billion, further reinforcing the company’s long-term production outlook.

Operating profit also reflected this trajectory. EBITDA climbed to 13.5 billion TL with a 25% margin. The company’s Book-to-Bill ratio reached 2, exceeding industry norms and signaling a strong inflow of new business relative to completed deliveries.

In addition to revenue growth, ASELSAN reported key gains in innovation and capital reinvestment. Research and development expenditures rose 42% to $572 million, while infrastructure investments doubled, totaling $104 million. The company also reported a 38% drop in net debt, bringing its Net Debt/EBITDA ratio down from 1.21 to 0.57.

“We can highlight three key factors behind this success: first, focusing on high-tech products and rapid product launches; second, efficiency improvements; and third, localization efforts,” Akyol said.

The company said eight new products were added to inventory in the first half of the year. Artificial intelligence has been incorporated into core processes, generating an estimated $25 million in annualized cost savings. Despite workforce growth, revenue per employee increased by 1.6%, and new orders linked to localized production with Turkish suppliers reduced costs further, the company said.

The company’s financial position has also been recognized by investors. In 2025, ASELSAN became the most valuable publicly traded firm on Borsa İstanbul, with a market capitalization surpassing $21 billion. Akyol described the milestone as “a concrete indication of our investors’ confidence in the company and their belief in our long-term potential.”

Looking ahead, ASELSAN said it will maintain its pace of investment, especially in serial production for key sectors such as air defense systems, radar, guided munitions, and electro-optics. The company reiterated its focus on an export-oriented growth strategy, aiming to expand into new markets in the second half of the year.

In closing remarks, Akyol emphasized the company’s forward momentum. “We will continue to progress with the same determination in the second half of the year. We will maintain our R&D and investments,” he said.

With a strong order book, expanding international contracts, and continued investment in next-generation systems, ASELSAN is positioning itself to remain a key player in the global defense electronics sector amid shifting geopolitical and industrial trends.

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Türkiye’s leading defense electronics company, ASELSAN, reported strong financial performance for the first half of 2025, driven by continued demand in key military sectors and an increase in export activity.