Roketsan, Turkiye’s leading company in rocket and missile technologies, is actively working to increase its sales across Africa by deepening ties with the continent’s armed forces. Murat İkinci, Roketsan CEO, told defenceWeb.
The company sees its advanced, field-proven products as ideal solutions for African nations addressing various security challenges. Already, countries like Niger, Mali, Ethiopia, Chad, and Djibouti are integrating Roketsan’s munitions into their unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), demonstrating the company’s growing footprint in the region.
Murat İkinci, Roketsan’s CEO, has emphasized the value the company places on African markets, stating, “Having strong relations both with our country and our defence industry, the African countries are of great importance for us as well.”
He points to Roketsan’s global reputation, noting its position among the top 100 defense companies worldwide and its ranking as fourth in research and development investments in Turkiye. This standing reflects the company’s 36-year history, which began in 1988 when it was established by the Turkish Defence Industry Executive Committee. Majority-owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, Roketsan has evolved into a key player in producing rockets, missiles, guided munitions, and weapon systems for both domestic and export markets, while also venturing into space technology with a satellite launch and advanced technology research center opened in 2020.
At first, last year at the African Aerospace and Defence (AAD) Expo, held in South Africa in September 2024, where Roketsan participated, it announced that it is aiming to strengthen defense cooperation on the continent.
A cornerstone of Roketsan’s offerings is its Smart Micro Munition (SMM) family, which includes the MAM-C, MAM-L, and MAM-T glide bombs. These precision-guided munitions have proven effective when paired with UAVs like the Bayraktar TB2. The MAM-C, a lightweight 6.5 kg glide bomb, achieves an 8,000-meter range depending on release altitude.
The MAM-L, weighing 23 kg, extends this range to over 25 kilometers with its imaging infra-red seeker and RF datalink, offering options like tandem anti-tank, fragmentation, or thermobaric warheads. The larger 95 kg MAM-T, designed for heavier UAVs and manned aircraft, reaches up to 50 kilometers with a blast/fragmentation warhead and GPS/INS guidance alongside its infra-red seeker.
İkinci has highlighted the success of the Bayraktar TB2 and MAM-L combination in various conflicts, suggesting it as a reliable option for African countries combating threats.
Beyond the SMM family, Roketsan offers a variety of other advanced systems. The CIRIT, a 70 mm laser-guided rocket weighing 15 kg, provides an 8,000-meter range and can be launched from helicopters, light attack aircraft, UAVs, or ground and naval platforms.
The TEBER guidance kit enhances Mk 81 and Mk 82 bombs with inertial navigation, GPS, and laser-seeking capabilities for improved accuracy. For anti-tank needs, Roketsan provides missiles like the KARAOk, with a 2,500-meter range and fire-and-forget capability via an infra-red seeker, and the OMTAS, a 4,000-meter range missile with man-in-the-loop control through an RF datalink.
The L-UMTAS, a long-range laser-guided missile, extends to 8,000 meters and supports multiple warhead types, including tandem HEAT and thermobaric options.
With a workforce of over 5,000 skilled personnel and modern facilities, Roketsan continues to invest in its capabilities, tailoring systems to meet customer needs across air, land, sea, and space domains.
The company’s export success spans the Americas, Asia, and Europe, and it ranked eleventh among the fastest-growing defense firms globally in 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
İkinci has invited African nations to explore Roketsan’s cost-effective, high-performance solutions, aiming to build on Turkiye’s political and cultural ties with the continent to enhance regional security through defense cooperation.
