ASELSAN Continues Next-Generation Air Defence System Work
ASELSAN is reported to be continuing work on next-generation sensor and command and control systems that will contribute to a multi-layered air defence architecture. Company officials state that radar, electro-optical and command and control subsystems are being developed together within a vision of an integrated defence umbrella.
Who stands where in the layered architecture
Turkey’s air defence architecture consists of complementary layers. Gun-based systems and KORKUT operate at very short range, the HİSAR family at low and medium altitude, and SİPER in the upper layer. The next-generation sensor and command and control work aims less at improving each layer’s individual performance than at strengthening the links between them.
The real issue: integration
The hardest topic in air defence is not the missile itself but turning data from different radars and sensors into a single air picture. When a target is detected separately by more than one sensor, it must be determined that those tracks belong to the same target. Otherwise more than one missile may be expended on a single target, or a target may be missed entirely. That discrimination is precisely the function of the command and control software.
Why sensor diversity is necessary
Because radar emits actively, it constitutes a detectable source and can struggle with small targets at low altitude. Electro-optical systems work passively but are affected by weather conditions. Using different sensor types together therefore stands out as an approach that balances the weaknesses of any single sensor. That diversity becomes decisive particularly against small unmanned aerial vehicles.
Compatibility with existing systems
One of the programme’s most critical requirements is that newly developed components can work with systems already in the inventory. Radars and firing elements procured in different years must be able to speak a common data standard. The work is therefore reported to be progressing in a way compatible with the SİPER and HİSAR family systems. Where compatibility is not achieved, even a technically strong sensor contributes little to the existing architecture.
The industrial picture
In air defence, ASELSAN is ranked third in international comparisons, behind RTX and Lockheed Martin. In 2026 a bulk delivery of 47 systems was carried out in air defence. Turkey is among the small number of countries able to produce every layer domestically, from low to high altitude.
Assessment
Integrated air defence work reflects an approach focused on the coherence of the architecture rather than the number of systems. The success of such programmes, however, depends on more than one company’s product family: it requires different service commands and civil air traffic to be coordinated on the same network. The output of the work will be assessed by reaction time and target discrimination performance measured in exercises.
