Konya Weapon Systems Inc. was established by 24 Konya companies and Aselsan as a partnership with Konya Defence Industry Inc. The company will play a leading role in the production of weapons and weapons systems.  

The Factory’s groundbreaking ceremony was held with the participation of official delegations in Konya on 21 March.

The factory will be built on a 300 thousand square meter area near the Konya airport. This factory is established with the name Aselsan Konya Weapon Systems Inc. with 49 percent of its shares owned by Konya Defence Industry Inc. while the remaining 51 percent belongs to Aselsan. An investment of US$ 65 million is expected to be made in the factory for the production of remote-controlled weapon systems and the weapon systems that currently could not be manufactured in the country.

In his speech at the groundbreaking ceremony, Vice President of the Defence Industries Mustafa Murat ŞEKER mentioned that the defence industry has made great progress in the last 15 years. Vice President ŞEKER: “We have been manufacturing many devices and systems and exporting them. Still, it’s not sufficient. We have more ambitious targets. In order to achieve these targets, infrastructure and human resources across our country should be mobilized. I consider this company as a great example for this.”

Aselsan Chairman, President & CEO Prof. Haluk GÖRGÜN: “As is known, our country’s competence in developing military systems and introducing these developed systems to the service of friendly and allied nations in the international arena has been increasing day by day. Our country has put forth great will in the development and indigenization of its own independent systems and has dedicated itself to achieving rapid progress to this end. This investment will be a critical step towards the main objective of minimizing foreign dependency as well as achieving regional development. Today, we are laying the foundation of a facility in which not only the production, test and integration activities will be conducted, but also the foundation of a facility that will serve as a design and innovation center for weapons and weapon systems. Additionally, this company is our country’s first “Spin–Off company.” I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the realization of this project”.

Konya Defence Industry Inc. President and CEO Ibrahim KOYUNCU expressed that they were witnessing a historical moment and said, “Konya has served as a capital to this geography, and together with Aselsan, a leader in the defence industry, are building cooperation together. We have significant targets. We plan to be among the league of the top fifty export companies within a short span of time”.

18 Different Countries are Utilizing Aselsan Remote Controlled Weapons 

The Remote-Controlled Weapon Systems developed indigenously by Aselsan are being utilized by the Turkish Armed Forces and National Police within the country, and they have been included in the inventory of 18 different foreign countries. Over three thousand Aselsan Remote-Controlled Weapon Systems are being utilized over thirty different platforms in the country and abroad. Weapon Systems are providing services in wide range of areas in land platforms; from armored personnel carrier vehicles to Main Battle Tanks, from fixed platforms to howitzers. Similarly, in naval platforms the system functions in utilization areas extending from fast intervention boats to frigates, from fast patrol boats to landing ships.

The Remote-Controlled Weapon Systems (RCWS) were developed to achieve effective defence against asymmetric threats by being integrated over land, naval and air platforms. Machine guns and automatic cannons, the 40mm automatic grenade launcher and anti-tank missiles are being used in the Remote-Controlled Weapon Systems. With the help of the electro-optical units enabling night and day precision surveillance capacity and stabilization, target tracking and ballistic computation capabilities maintain the effective utilization of the weapon’s firepower. These weapon systems are able to operate under all types of weather conditions, night and day.

Aselsan Increases Competition with RCWS in 13 Different Calibers and Standards

Many machine guns and automatic cannons that are being utilized in the aforementioned systems are currently being imported from foreign companies due to the lack of domestic alternatives. This causes negative impacts such as high costs and lengthy procurement processes and problems occur from time to time due to the restrictions and embargoes imposed on the final user countries. Aselsan’s Remote-Controlled Weapon Systems in nearly 13 different calibers and standards are being developed and manufactured indigenously through Aselsan’s own resources together with the sub-industry companies with seasoned know-how and experience. Aselsan aims to generate more competitive and rapid solutions by eliminating foreign dependency on these weapons. As a result of the analyses conducted within this scope, the aforesaid investment was realized in Konya after the evaluation of factors such as the support of institutions, interest of investors, existence of production infrastructure, experience in the weapons industry, the status of developed university and technology development  zones, fire and test fields, coordinated activities executed towards the indigenization of the defence  industry and Konya’s environment enabling the production of weapon systems.