Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler attended the “Portable Early Warning Radar Systems Delivery Ceremony” at ASELSAN’s Gölbaşı facilities, marking the first delivery of these systems developed domestically for the Turkish Armed Forces.
In his speech, Minister Güler expressed condolences to the Iranian people for the loss of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and their entourage in a helicopter crash.
“We are witnessing with great happiness the first delivery of the portable early warning radar system, a critical project that will strengthen our heroic army. I hope this advanced technology product will be beneficial for our country and the Turkish Armed Forces,” said Güler. He noted the increasing uncertainties, risks, and threats in international relations, emphasizing the importance of countries prioritizing their security needs.
Güler highlighted that Turkey, strategically located, must produce its defense systems with its capabilities to ensure its security. “Past painful experiences have shown us the necessity of developing our domestic and national defense industry at all costs,” he added.
Güler continued, “Thanks to the strategic vision and strong will demonstrated by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, significant projects have been initiated in the defense industry. As a result, our valuable companies have designed and produced domestic and national defense industry products on almost every platform, continually developing new ones, strengthening our army.”
“Our defense industry, based on domestic and national production, not only contributes to Turkey’s independence but also enhances the country’s economy with its technology production, transfer capacity, and export performance. Our defense industry, with its strong infrastructure, sustainable ecosystem, wide employment opportunities, and critical projects, serves as a role model in the region and the world. Reducing our dependency on imported systems and possessing a defense industry based on advanced defense technologies ensures our political and economic independence and increases our international effectiveness on a military and strategic level,” he stated.
“We Proudly Watched the First Flights” Minister Güler mentioned that they continue to work in cooperation with all stakeholders, including the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB).
As a result, the Turkish Armed Forces’ inventory is continuously enhanced with new products, and the army’s capabilities are continuously developed. “Recently, we proudly watched the successful first flights of our unmanned combat aircraft ANKA 3 and our domestic and national aircraft KAAN. We have accelerated our work towards the mass production of our manned air platforms HÜRKUŞ, HÜRJET, GÖKBEY, and KAAN. While integrating ships and unmanned sea vehicles produced with domestic and national resources into our navy, we also signed agreements for the mass production of torpedoes and missiles to meet the needs of our Naval Forces. Additionally, we signed procurement contracts for four different types of domestic and national missiles that will significantly contribute to the operational effectiveness of our Land Forces, and received our first modernized tank. Today, we are integrating the portable early warning radar system, a highly critical project for our country’s defense, into our inventory,” he explained.
“Our Radar Will Provide Significant Superiority to Our Army” Güler emphasized the importance of radar systems that can detect and neutralize threats early on, stating that early warning radar systems can detect a wide range of threats, from aircraft to ballistic missiles, and offer an immense defensive capability due to their range.
He stated, “Aware of this, Turkey initiated the necessary efforts, and as a result, the Presidency of Defense Industries and ASELSAN, working tirelessly for years, successfully produced the early warning radar system. This new generation radar system, with the longest range in Turkey, early warning capability, quick setup, and mobilization features, contains the most advanced features in its class. With this highly capable radar, we will quickly detect and track multifaceted threats, significantly enhancing our defense capabilities. Additionally, our radar will provide significant superiority to our army by enabling personnel to make informed decisions and take action swiftly. As always, we will continue to take all necessary measures to ensure the security of our country and citizens, equipping our heroic army with the most modern systems required by today and the future.”
Görgün: Delivered Portable Early Warning Radar Systems Are Very Strategic Products Haluk Görgün, President of the Presidency of Defense Industries, emphasized the importance of radar systems for battlefield and border security at the ceremony, noting that they have been working in this field for about 30 years.
He stated, “The delivered portable early warning radar systems are very strategic products. The satisfaction of producing and integrating these strategic products domestically is immense.” He highlighted that the entire family of early warning radar systems produced by ASELSAN is named ALP, with the delivered radar named ALP 300-G.
Görgün explained that the radar system has the capacity for nearly 500 digital communications and can process the equivalent of 81 DVDs’ content per second. He noted that they have exported around 40 different radars to approximately 10 different countries.
“With ALP 300-G, We Have Reached an Important Milestone in Our Early Warning and Air Defense Radar Family” ASELSAN General Manager Ahmet Akyol highlighted that ASELSAN has achieved many significant successes in radar technology in recent years.
He stated, “We have gained design and production capabilities in all frequency bands. With Cenk and Akrep, which entered the inventory in 2023, we completed our naval platform radar family. With ALP 300-G and the low-altitude radar that will enter the inventory this year, we have reached an important milestone in our early warning and air defense radar family. With our AESA Nose Radar Murad, which has placed us at the top of the radar league, we have become one of the few countries capable of developing air platform radars.”
Akyol emphasized that ASELSAN can now meet all of Turkey’s fundamental radar needs domestically and is preparing for future technologies with ongoing R&D efforts in quantum radar development in collaboration with TOBB University and Gebze Technical University. He noted that ASELSAN designs and produces the GAN chips and all components used in AESA radars, and the gallium nitride transistors used in these chips have been domestically produced through the ASELSAN Bilkent MicroNano company, established in cooperation with Bilkent University.
Akyol concluded by stating that ASELSAN aims to be among the world’s top 30 defense companies by 2030, focusing on creating the best products in the field, developing game-changing technologies, and growing export-oriented.
source: aa.com.tr/ prepared by Melisa Beğiç