Explaining the “Sky Dome” air defense system, ASELSAN General Manager Mehmet Akyol said, “Many major systems such as radars, command control systems, communication systems, shooting platforms work together in the air defense cycle.”
Regarding comments comparing Turkey’s “Sky Dome” air defense system with Israel’s Iron Dome, Akyol said, “There is nothing less than the Iron Dome. The goal is to spread it across the country.” Akyol said, “We must learn to sell as well as make” in defense industry production and listed the items that will increase exports.
Aselsan General Manager Akyol gave the first lesson to senior bureaucrats and industry leaders in the 5th term training of the SAHA MBA program organized by SAHA Istanbul to train leaders for the sector.
Describing the air defense system, which is collected under the name “Sky Dome” from very low altitude to its farthest range, Akyol said, “Many major systems such as radars, command and control systems, communication systems, shooting platforms work together in the air defense cycle. Aselsan has specialized systems for each field.” “There are systems,” he said.
In response to the question comparing Turkey’s air defense system project with Israel’s Iron Dome, Akyol said, “I cannot name a specific issue that makes Iron Dome stand out more than us and where we can say ‘There is something we are missing here’. Partly due to the situation of that geography, “The activities there have come to the fore. It is our goal to spread this throughout Turkey, to expand a little more and to complete the installations in the coming period, but I can say that we have gained serious competence.”
PRECISION PRODUCTION
Stating that air defense system projects were included in the competition leg of Teknofest for the first time this year in order to support the development in this field, Akyol also drew attention to the need to develop precision production. When asked about the need for engineering capacity, Akyol said, “We are a company that has delivered many products to the field. I see maybe 20 types of Aselsan products in a base area. I see that there are meaningless projects when our engineers do not go to the field. Quality and growth-supporting studies in production are a significant deficiency. In production with a high level of difficulty, “We cannot find enough manufacturers. We have 3,400 suppliers; it is more important to increase the difficult production or increase the quality rather than increasing the quantity. There are perhaps 50 manufacturers in mechanical production, but there are 2-3 manufacturers in precision mechanics.”
4 YEARS ORDER OK
Emphasizing the importance of learning to sell successful products as well as making them, Akyol said: “Turkey’s export amount per kilogram is 1.4 dollars; for the defense industry, this is around 58-60 dollars. In Aselsan, it is around 2 thousand dollars. With the most qualified side of technology.” When we transfer this to the products we have started to mass produce, the seeker heads are at 12 thousand dollars per kilogram, our newly started UAV cameras are at 20 thousand dollars, the nose radar is at 30 thousand dollars, and the detectors of the seeker heads and cameras are at 50 thousand dollars… The high value added we have always dreamed of. “It is the epitome of value-producing Turkey. We want to be among the top 30 in the Defense Top 100 by the end of 2030. We currently have an order that will last us 4 years.”
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Source: Milliyet / Hande Atılgan
