Turkish defense giant Aselsan signs record $1.3B worth of export contracts in 1st half of year

Turkish defense giant Aselsan announced Tuesday that it signed direct and indirect export contracts worth $1.3 billion in the first six months of the year, continuing its export-oriented growth strategy with "determination."

During the first six months of 2025, revenue rose to 53.7 billion Turkish liras ($1.32 billion), up 11.3% year-on-year, "driven by ongoing deliveries in areas such as air defense, electro-optics, radar, avionics, electronic warfare, security and weapon systems."

During the first half of the year, new contracts totaled $2.8 billion, up 10% compared to the same period of the previous year, while backlog orders expanded by 30%, leveling up to $16 billion.

With a real increase of 15% compared to the same period of the previous year, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) generated from operations reached $319.7 million with a margin of 25%, and the Book-to-Bill ratio was recorded at two, positioning the company above the industry average.

In the first half of 2025, by climbing 42% compared to the previous year, the company’s research and development (R&D) expenditures reached $572 million during the reporting period, while expenditures on infrastructure investment grew by 100%, doubling the same period of last year by reaching up to $104 million.

Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol, evaluating the financial results of the first six months of 2025, said with the Aselsan NEXT program the firm launched in 2024, it had gained strong financial momentum.

"Our second-quarter results once again confirmed that we maintained this momentum in the first half of 2025," Akyol said.

"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," he noted.

Noting that Aselsan's market capitalization exceeded $21 billion, Akyol said this development represents a concrete indication of the firm's investors’ confidence in the company and their belief in its long-term potential.

"We will continue to progress with the same determination in the second half of the year. We will maintain our R&D and investments, particularly increasing our serial production capacity in critical areas such as air defense, radar, smart ammunition, guidance systems and electro-optics. With our export-oriented growth strategy, we will expand into new markets," he added.