Aselsan signs $905M air defense deal, Siper 2 completes firing test

Turkish defense company Aselsan has signed a €780 million ($905 million) contract with the Defense Industries Secretariat (SSB) for the procurement of air defense systems, the company announced. The agreement covers systems aimed at strengthening Türkiye’s air defense capabilities and contributes to the Steel Dome, a multi-layered air defense architecture developed under SSB coordination. Steel Dome is designed to neutralize aerial threats across all altitudes and ranges, integrating multiple layers from low-altitude defenses against drone swarms to long-range systems such as Siper.

Steel Dome architecture

The system includes cost-effective low-altitude defense elements such as Korkut and Gurz, radars operating at different altitudes, and Hisar systems forming the middle layer, while Siper is positioned in the upper layer. Aselsan said Steel Dome brings together several air defense weapon systems, radars, electro-optical solutions, communication modules, command-and-control stations, and artificial intelligence capabilities. The company is also developing Hakim, a higher-level command-and-control solution designed to coordinate the systems within Steel Dome, along with sensor and communication solutions.

Siper 2 firing test

Separately, the new version of Siper long-range air defense system, Siper 2, successfully completed its latest firing test. Defense Industries Secretary Haluk Gorgun wrote: “The distributed architecture-based, long-range regional air and missile defense system SIPER 2, which plays a critical role at the strategic level, successfully destroyed a maneuvering target.” He added that Siper 2 will operate at longer ranges and higher altitudes compared to Siper 1. For Türkiye, the deal and successful test mark significant progress in reducing foreign dependency in air defense, a strategic priority amid regional threats from Iran’s missile program and ongoing conflicts.