Turkish defence giant ASELSAN is actively searching for a local manufacturing partner in Nigeria and has already sent a team to inspect a Nigerian shipyard as part of that effort, company Chief Executive Officer and President Ahmet Akyol said at a September media roundtable, describing ASELSAN’s relationship with Nigeria as a “close-knitted friendship” built on partnerships already under way.
Asked directly about Turkish activity in Africa and ASELSAN’s role in supporting Nigeria’s push to increase local production of military equipment, Akyol confirmed the company is “looking for local partnership” and said ASELSAN is in direct communication with Nigeria’s military to understand its operational requirements against an ongoing, large-scale counter-terrorism campaign. “We are finding local companies to deploy this solutions and solve the security challenges,” he said.
A Relationship Already in Motion
Akyol’s comments describe a relationship further along than a first encounter. Military Africa reported in September 2026 that ASELSAN is already one of the Turkish firms supplying electronics integration and technical know-how to DICON-D7G, the joint venture between Nigeria’s Defence Industries Corporation (DICON) and Turkish firm D7G that has become the primary bridge between Nigeria’s defence-industrial ambitions and the Turkish supplier base. That reporting named ASELSAN specifically as a partner helping Nigeria upgrade its domestic production lines for infantry combat equipment, assault rifles and armoured vehicles, work carried out under the legal framework established by Nigeria’s 2023 DICON Act.
Why Nigeria, and Why Now
Akyol’s framing, that ASELSAN is in direct communication with Nigeria’s military “to learn and understand the operational template” before proposing solutions, reflects a sales approach built around Nigeria’s specific, lived security problem rather than a generic equipment offer. Nigeria’s armed forces have spent the past two years confronting an escalating drone threat from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram, including coordinated reconnaissance-guided assaults on forward operating bases in Borno State, a threat category that sits squarely inside ASELSAN’s own core competencies in electronic warfare and counter-unmanned aerial systems (counter-UAS). ASELSAN’s flagship Steel Dome programme, a layered air defence architecture combining radars, electro-optical sensors, jammers, lasers, anti-aircraft guns and missiles to cover threats from 100 metres out to more than 150 kilometres, was built precisely for the kind of mixed, evolving aerial threat environment Nigeria’s northeast now represents, even though Akyol’s comments did not specifically name Steel Dome as part of the Nigeria conversation.
In September 2025, ASELSAN had recently opened a branch office in Abuja to ease the business relationship between both nations. The management team of ASELSAN Corporation, Turkey led by the CEO, Mr Ahmet Akyol on Tuesday paid a courtesy visit to the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla at Naval Headquarters Abuja. He further informed the CNS that ASELSAN Corporation’s areas of specialty were research, development and manufacture of advanced military technology equipment such as radars, air defence equipment, UAVs and other military electronics. In his response, the CNS welcomed the CEO and his team to Naval Headquarters, informing them of the Nigerian Navy’s ship building capability having built and launched 3 Seaward Defence Boats (SDBs) in 2012, 2016 and 2021 respectively. ASELSAN’s push for a dedicated local manufacturing partner fits inside, rather than apart from, this wider ecosystem Nigeria has been deliberately assembling.
Earlier in 2022, Nigeria and Turkey entered talks on defence collaboration in counter-terrorism support as well as the acquisition of various military hardware which may include attack helicopters, armed drones, and other infantry systems. Subsequently, in the same year, leading Turkish defence companies pitched their hardware to the Nigerian military leadership in a bid to make some sales. Amongst the companies; TUSAŞ, OTOKAR, Roketsan, BMC, Tais Shipyard, Katmerciler, ASELSAN, TAI and 10 others were in Abuja to attend the 5th Turkey-Nigeria Defence Industry Consultation Meeting.
The Company Behind the Pitch
ASELSAN’s interest in Nigeria comes at a moment of considerable momentum for the company globally. Founded in 1975, ASELSAN is now Turkey’s largest defence company and, according to Akyol, recently became the first Turkish defence firm to enter the Defense News Top 40 global rankings, climbing to 40th place from 43rd the previous year. The company reported revenue of 4.5 billion US dollars in 2025, up from 3.5 billion dollars the year before, with export contracts exceeding 2.5 billion dollars across 97 countries, and offices in 25 countries including Algeria, Egypt, South Africa and Nigeria. Akyol said ASELSAN’s order backlog has grown from 7 to 8 billion dollars three years ago to 23 billion dollars currently, with a target of 30 billion dollars by the end of the year, growth he attributed to a roughly 25 percent annual expansion rate sustained over the past three years and 5,600 new hires, most in their early thirties.
Much of that growth is being funnelled into the Oğulbey Technology Base, described by Akyol as the largest single investment in ASELSAN’s history. Independent corporate records put the facility’s cost at approximately 1.5 billion US dollars, with construction proceeding in phases, the first already producing selected air defence systems, and the completed site intended to more than double ASELSAN’s overall production capacity and become Europe’s largest integrated air defence manufacturing facility once finished. ASELSAN has separately opened a new Guidance Systems Production Centre representing a further 56 million dollar investment, part of a research and development programme into which the company reinvested 1.3 billion dollars last year alone, spanning semiconductors, photonics, satellites, naval drones and quantum computing, alongside artificial intelligence tools Akyol said saved 730,000 man-hours in design and manufacturing work over the past year.
Akyol pointed to ASELSAN’s NATO-aligned compliance standards, a direct consequence of Turkey’s NATO membership, as a particular selling point for international buyers, alongside products he described as International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)-free, meaning they fall outside the licensing restrictions the United States places on defence exports containing American-origin components. That status matters in practice for African buyers who have at times found American or European suppliers slower to approve sales or burdened by end-use conditions; an ITAR-free Turkish alternative offering comparable technical performance, backed by a demonstrated 410 million dollar electronic warfare contract win in Poland, gives ASELSAN a genuine commercial argument when courting governments such as Nigeria’s that are actively trying to diversify away from dependence on any single foreign supplier.
What Comes Next
Akyol’s comments describe an active search rather than a signed deal, and ASELSAN has not announced a specific new Nigerian joint venture bearing ASELSAN’s name at the time of writing. What is clearer is the trajectory: a Turkish company climbing rapidly through global industry rankings, backed by a government actively marketing its defence sector across Africa, meeting a Nigerian government that has spent two years methodically building the legal and institutional framework to absorb exactly this kind of foreign technology transfer.
A central pillar of ASELSAN’s market appeal is its strict alignment with international standards, backed by Turkiye’s NATO membership. “This is very critical,” Akyol emphasised. He noted that the company delivers high-performance, cost-effective, and combat-proven solutions on accelerated timelines—a combination that recently secured a $410 million electronic warfare systems contract in Poland.
ASELSAN’s recent ascent to 40th place on the Defense News Top 100 List, up from 43rd last year, underscores its expanding global footprint, industrial capacity, and record-breaking backlog. “Our rise in the Defense News Top 100 is a clear reflection of the scale, momentum and global competitiveness ASELSAN has built. In just three years, we have grown our backlog from $7–8 billion to $23 billion, and with the opportunities and contract negotiations currently underway, we are targeting $30 billion by year-end,” Akyol said. “We are building ASELSAN into a global defence technology powerhouse. As we look ahead, we are determined to climb even higher in the Defense News Top 100, expanding our export reach, accelerating deliveries, and strengthening our technological and industrial capabilities at scale,” he added.
This transition from a domestic supplier into a leading global defence electronics provider is being executed under the ASELSANeXt strategy. A major milestone in this expansion is the multi-billion-dollar Oğulbey Technology Base, which represents the largest investment in the company’s history. Being commissioned in successive phases, its operational segments have already begun manufacturing select air defence systems. Once fully completed, the project will more than double ASELSAN’s production capacity, establish Europe’s largest integrated air defence facility, and anchor mass production for critical infrastructure like the nation’s Steel Dome initiative. Complementing this expansion is the recently opened Guidance Systems Production Centre, representing a $56 million investment.
The Steel Dome serves as ASELSAN’s flagship program, delivering a comprehensive, multi-layered air defence architecture. It protects against a wide spectrum of aerial threats at ranges spanning from 100 meters to over 150 kilometers by integrating an array of radars, electro-optical systems, jammers, lasers, anti-aircraft guns, and missiles.
With more than 500 products currently in its portfolio, ASELSAN continues to diversify. Current forward-looking investments are targeting defence-grade semiconductors, photonics, satellites, naval drones, and quantum computing. Furthermore, the company is systematically embedding artificial intelligence across its product lines and manufacturing operations to drive efficiency. Last year alone, AI integration saved the company 730,000 man-hours in design and manufacturing workflows. Backed by rising demand, a historic backlog, and a widening technological portfolio, management remains highly confident that ASELSAN will maintain its upward trajectory to become one of the world’s most valuable defence enterprises.