Roketsan

Roketsan was established in 1988 by Turkey's Defense Industries Executive Committee with a narrow original mandate, to build a domestic rocket and missile design and manufacturing capability, and it has since become the country's primary missile house, the counterpart to Aselsan's electronics and TAI's airframes in Turkey's push toward defense self-sufficiency. The company's product range runs from unguided artillery rockets up through cruise missiles and hypersonic-adjacent research programs. On the rocket and ballistic missile side, Roketsan builds the TRG-300 Tiger guided multiple rocket launcher system, the J-600T Yıldırım short-range ballistic missile family, and the Bora ballistic missile, along with the longer-range Tayfun, which has drawn attention as one of the more capable indigenous ballistic systems fielded by a NATO member outside the major established missile powers. Air defense is a growing focus, with the Hisar-A, Hisar-O, and Hisar-RF interceptor families developed jointly with Aselsan to give Turkey layered protection, and the longer-range SIPER system extending that umbrella further, alongside the shoulder-launched Sungur man-portable air defense missile.

Roketsan's anti-tank guided missile line includes Cirit, a laser-guided 70mm rocket originally developed for helicopter use and later adapted for ground vehicles and remote weapon stations, along with the heavier UMTAS and OMTAS anti-tank missiles and the newer TANOK system. Cruise missile work centers on the Atmaca anti-ship missile, developed to reduce Turkey's reliance on foreign-made naval strike weapons, and the SOM family of air-launched cruise missiles used for standoff strikes, with a land-attack variant known as KARA ATMACA extending that reach to ground targets. On the naval side, Roketsan builds the Akya heavyweight torpedo and the lighter Orka torpedo, giving Turkey an indigenous underwater weapons capability that few countries maintain independently. Precision-guided munitions are another significant line, including the TEBER guidance kit family that converts unguided bombs into precision weapons and the MAM series of small, lightweight smart munitions designed for use from drones, a product category that gained international attention as Turkish-made armed drones saw combat use in multiple conflicts through the 2020s.

Ownership reflects the same state-industrial structure as Aselsan and TAI: the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation holds a majority stake, with Aselsan, the state ordnance company MKEK, and Vakıfbank holding smaller pieces, tying Turkey's major defense companies together through cross-ownership as much as through shared customers. Headquartered in Ankara with roughly 5,000 employees, about 2,000 of them in research and development, Roketsan has become an increasingly visible name in international defense markets as Turkish-designed missiles and munitions see combat use and export interest from countries looking for capable systems outside the traditional US, European, and Russian supply chains.