ASELSAN has announced the beginning of the Oğulbey Technology Base to provide the required production, research, and development activities for Steel Dome IADS.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has attended the ceremony for the Oğulbey Technology Base by laying the foundation. Minister of National Defence Yaşar Güler and the Secretary of Turkish Defence Industries, Haluk Görgün, alongside the executives of ASELSAN, were also present in the ceremony.

Oğulbey Technology Base, with an investment of $1.5 billion, will cover over 735000 square meters of enclosed space. The facilities will primarily serve teams developing the Steel Dome integrated air defence system (IADS).

Delivery of Steel Dome Components

47 platforms for Steel Dome have been delivered, including:

One SİPER battery (10 units), three HİSAR-O batteries (21 units), KORKUT SPAAGs/modernised 35 mm AA guns, seven PUHU ESM systems, and 2 REDET EA systems.

Threat Map of Turkiye and Steel Dome

The region Turkiye is in consists of different kinds of potential adversaries, culminating in a wide array of threats from low to high-end. Some of these can be exemplified as saturation attacks through low-cost UAVs and ballistic missiles still carrying considerable payloads, precision-guided munitions with sophisticated evasion capabilities, and combat aircraft of considerable self-defence capability.

Diversity and large numbers in terms of potential threats, and the volatile state of the MENA region, require Turkiye to adopt a layered structure with dense distribution due to the large area to be protected.

Steel Dome, as an integrated air defence system, consists of layers going from C-UAS to high altitude:

C-UAS-> KORKUT 25 25 mm airburst, İHTAR jammer, KANGAL jammer family, ŞAHİN 40x53 mm airburst, EJDERHA AD HPeM weapon

Very Low Altitude-> KORKUT SPAAG family, GÜRZ (4 km with 35 mm), BURÇ (1+ km with 30 mm), modernised 35 mm AA guns, KORKUT C-RAM

Low Altitude-> HİSAR-A (15+ km), SUNGUR (8 km), GÜRZ (8 km/15 km), BURÇ (8 km /11 km)

Medium Altitude->HİSAR-O (25+ km /40+ km), GÖKDEMİR

High Altitude->SİPER Block 1/2/3 (100+ km/150+ km/180+ km)

In addition to these, electronic warfare systems like KORAL and PUHU can operate within the Steel Dome structure for passive detection and hinder the targets' combat effectiveness or self-defence.

Like the layered approach, for effectors, radars of different ranges and capabilities are present as well.

Short Range-> AURA 100-G C-UAS radar, AURA 200-G fixed multirole AESA radar, STR 400-G RAM detection radar

Medium Range-> KALKAN 400-G (Part of HİSAR-O), KALKAN 200-G (Used in KORKUT and HİSAR-A systems), ALP 100-G low altitude multirole AESA radar

Long Range-> ALP 300-G/310-G (Principal long-range radar), AKREP 1000-G (Multifunction fire control radar for SİPER system)

Medium Altitude->HİSAR-O (25+ km /40+ km), GÖKDEMİR (? km)

High Altitude->SİPER Block 1/2/3 (100+ km/150+ km/180+ km)