Modern warfare has changed dramatically as we have seen from the Russia–Ukraine war, conflicts involving Gaza, India and Pakistan, and the recent US–Israeli attacks on Iran. At the heart of this change is the increasing global reliance on drone and missile technology as well as advanced air defense systems.
Turkey, one of the largest military powers in the Middle East, is rapidly establishing itself as a major supplier in the global defense sector. At the center of this effort is Roketsan, a company founded in 1988 to supply the Turkish armed forces, which has since evolved into the country’s primary manufacturer of missile and rocket systems.
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Currently exporting to around 50 countries, the company is one of the fastest growing defense companies globally.
So how did Roketsan secure a large share of the global arms trade?
bypassing western sanctions
Turkey’s defense expansion was largely accelerated by the restrictions imposed on it. Western sanctions aimed at halting its military progress meant that Ankara could not acquire necessary technical systems or components.
In 2020, the United States imposed Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions on Turkey, a key member of the transatlantic military alliance NATO. The sanctions targeted Turkey’s military procurement agency, its head Ismail Demir and three other senior officials. Washington also pulled Ankara out of the F-35 stealth jet program in July 2019.
The measures were taken after Ankara purchased Russia’s S-400 missile defense system, which was seen as a potential threat to NATO security. The EU also prepared limited sanctions and discussed restricting arms exports following energy exploration disputes in the eastern Mediterranean.
To avoid this, the country built an integrated, domestic defense ecosystem. Today, Türkiye relies on a vast supply chain of approximately 4,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) spread across the country. As a result, the Turkish defense industry is now operating with a local production rate of more than 90 percent.
This change has brought significant financial benefits to Ankara. In 2025, Turkey’s defense industry has reported exports worth $10 billion. Roketsan general manager Murat Ekinci told Al Jazeera that the company is currently ranked 71st among global defense firms, with ambitions to reach the top 50, then the top 20 and eventually the top 10.
To support this expansion, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated several large-scale facilities last week, including:
- Europe’s largest weapons facility.
- The new research and development (R&D) center houses 1,000 engineers.
- “Kirikel” facility dedicated to rocket fuel technology.
- New infrastructure for mass production of ballistic and cruise missiles.
These projects represent an investment of $1 billion, with the company planning to invest an additional $2 billion to expand mass production capabilities.
‘Tayfun’ and modern warfare
Roketsan’s R&D strategy – which employs 3,200 engineers and makes the company the third largest R&D institute in Turkey – is heavily influenced by data collected from ongoing global conflicts.
According to Ekinci, the war in Ukraine highlighted the impact of cheap, first-person view (FPV) and kamikaze drones supported by artificial intelligence. In response, Roketsan developed the “CIRIT” laser-guided missile as well as air defense systems such as “ALKA” and “BURC”.
The regional scenario was further complicated during the US-Israel war over Iran, as cheap Iranian-designed Martyr drones – recently upgraded by Russia with “Kometa-B” anti-jamming modules – overwhelmed defenses and even attacked a British base in Cyprus in March 2026. During the same month, NATO air defenses were forced to intercept three Iranian ballistic missiles entering Turkish airspace.
Meanwhile, the recent conflict between Israel and Iran has featured the use of complex attacks combining ballistic missiles with “swarms” of kamikaze drones designed to undermine air defenses. This environment makes hypersonic technology a vital asset.
This brings the Typhoon project into focus. Typhoon is a developing family of long-range ballistic missiles. Its most advanced iteration, the Typhoon Block 4, is a hypersonic missile engineered to penetrate advanced air defense systems by traveling at extreme speeds.
When Al Jazeera asked for specific details about the Typhoon’s exact operational range, Ekinci was elusive. He said, “We refrain from mentioning its extent; we simply say that its extent is substantial.”
Similarly, historical Western sanctions have prompted Turkey to create new cooperation initiatives, effectively accelerating the “Eastern shift” away from Western defense dependence. Turkish drones are now being used by several countries, including Pakistan during its war against India last May.
Based on these threat assessments, Roketson has prioritized five key areas of production:
- Long-range ballistic and cruise missiles.
- Air defense systems, including “Steel Dome”, Hisar-A, Hisar-O and Cyper.
- Submarine-launched cruise missiles use the AKYA system to take advantage of Turkey’s large submarine fleet.
- Smart micro-munitions designed specifically for armed drones.
- Long-range air-to-air missiles, a need highlighted in the brief India-Pakistan clash.
A strategic export model
Unlike conventional arms purchases, Turkiye is marketing its defense industry to international buyers as a strategic partnership.
“Our proposal to our partners… is as follows: let’s produce together, let’s develop technology together,” Ekinci said.
By establishing joint facilities and R&D centers in partner countries in the Middle East, Far East and Europe, Turkiye is attempting to secure a long-term geopolitical alliance rather than a purely transactional sale. Ekinci described Qatar as a prime example of this model, calling it a benchmark for technological, military and security cooperation in the region.
filling the global stockpile gap
This rapid expansion comes at a critical time for the global arms trade. Ongoing wars have severely depleted the stockpile of advanced weapon systems around the world.
During the recent US-Israeli war over Iran, Washington relied heavily on the multimillion-dollar Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems to stop cheap Iranian drones targeting US assets in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. With growing concerns that US interceptor supplies could dwindle, the Gulf states – which have collectively detected more than 1,000 drones in their airspace – are actively seeking alternative defense technologies, creating a highly attractive opportunity for Turkey’s missile industry.
Defense analyzes indicate that even military superpowers like the US will require significant time to replenish their current air defense stockpiles because of the complexity and massive infrastructure required to build them.
Turkish defense officials see the reduction as a strategic opening. By localizing its supply chain, Türkiye claims it can independently manufacture and export these highly demanded complex systems.
As global demand for air defense and ballistic technologies continues to grow, Roketsan is aggressively reinvesting its revenues in production infrastructure to expand its footprint in the international arms market.
