What Does ROKETSAN Make? Missiles, Rockets and Guided Weapons Explained

ROKETSAN is Türkiye’s dedicated rocket and missile manufacturer. Founded in 1988 and majority-owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, it makes guided artillery rockets, air-defence missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, anti-tank missiles, loitering munitions and the MAM family of drone-launched smart micro-munitions used on Bayraktar and Anka UAVs. It placed 64th on the Defense News Top 100 in September 2026 with $2.4 billion in revenue, and it exports to roughly 50 countries.

Photo: ROKETSAN product types on display at Teknofest 2019, Istanbul. Credit: Kingbjelica, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Direct answer

ROKETSAN (Roketsan Roket Sanayii ve Ticaret A.Ş.) is a Turkish rocket and missile manufacturer based in Elmadağ, Ankara. It designs, develops and produces guided rockets and artillery munitions, air-defence missiles, anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, anti-tank guided weapons, air-launched precision munitions and satellite-launch systems. Most of its output is a component of a larger platform: its MAM-series munitions are carried by Baykar and Turkish Aerospace drones, its missiles arm ASELSAN-led air-defence batteries, and its torpedoes and anti-ship missiles equip Turkish and export navies’ ships built by other yards. For buyers researching a specific weapon rather than the company, this page links to the relevant capability further down.

What is ROKETSAN?

ROKETSAN describes its founding purpose as establishing “a leading institution in the country for designing, developing and manufacturing rockets and missiles” (ROKETSAN, About Us). It is one of five Turkish defence firms that made the Defense News Top 100 in the 2026 list, alongside ASELSAN, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), Arca Defense and MKE.

ROKETSAN’s own product index (accessed 29 September 2026) groups its catalogue into seven families: Land Systems, Air Defence Systems, Naval Systems, Precision Guided Systems, Subsystems, Space Systems, and Ballistic Protection Systems. The full family map, with current product names, is set out below.

ROKETSAN rarely sells a finished weapon system on its own. Most of what it makes is integrated by, or fitted to, a platform or system built by a different prime: MAM-series munitions on Baykar and TUSAŞ drones; ATMACA and torpedoes on Turkish- or foreign-built warships; and missiles inside HİSAR and SİPER air-defence batteries led by ASELSAN. Where ROKETSAN’s role is a subsystem rather than the whole platform or system, this page says so explicitly.

When and why was ROKETSAN founded?

ROKETSAN was established on 14 June 1988 by decision of Türkiye’s Defense Industries Executive Committee, the predecessor body to today’s Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), to build a domestic rocket and missile design, development and manufacturing capability (ROKETSAN, About Us). According to the Campaign Against Arms Trade’s profile of the company, ROKETSAN initially supplied the Turkish armed forces before expanding to export customers; ROKETSAN’s own history states its first missile export took place in 2011.

Where is ROKETSAN based, and what are its facilities?

ROKETSAN’s headquarters and main production site are at Elmadağ, on the eastern edge of Ankara province. In 2026 the company brought two further facilities online as part of a capacity-expansion programme reported at roughly $1 billion already spent, with a further $2 billion planned: a missile-integration facility at Lalahan and a rocket-fuel and propellant plant at Kırıkkale (Al Jazeera, 16 April 2026; anews.com.tr, 8 May 2026). ROKETSAN’s own materials also list an Explosives Raw Material Production Plant, inaugurated in 2020, and a Satellite Launch, Space Systems and Advanced Technologies Research Center opened the same year, alongside a Firing Test Evaluation Center (ROKETSAN, About Us). A further R&D centre for about 1,000 engineers came online in 2026 (anews.com.tr). ROKETSAN says the combined investment is intended to raise missile production capacity roughly fivefold and has moved several lines to a three-shift production schedule.

Who owns ROKETSAN?

ROKETSAN is, in its own words, “an establishment of the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation” (TSKGV), which is its majority shareholder. ROKETSAN is not listed and does not trade on Borsa Istanbul. ASELSAN, itself majority-owned by TSKGV, holds 14.897% of ROKETSAN (ASELSAN 2025 Annual Report) — a stake that helps explain why the two companies co-operate closely on air-defence programmes such as HİSAR and SİPER. DefenceMENA has not been able to independently verify the remaining shareholder breakdown from a primary source as of September 2026; third-party company-data aggregators list additional stakes attributed to other state-linked defence and financial institutions, but these figures are not used on this page pending confirmation from ROKETSAN or TSKGV.

Who runs ROKETSAN?

Murat İkinci is ROKETSAN’s General Manager and President & CEO, having moved to the role from the same position at STM (Defence Turkey). He was still in post through 2026, when he set out company targets of more than $2 billion in annual turnover, exports above 50% of turnover, and roughly a fivefold increase in production capacity through the Lalahan and Kırıkkale facilities (anews.com.tr, 8 May 2026; Al Jazeera, 16 April 2026). At the SAHA Expo 2026 defence exhibition, İkinci described the company’s approach to international partners as “let’s produce together, let’s develop technology together” (Al Jazeera).

ROKETSAN revenue, exports and global ranking

Sources: Defense News, “Defense firms soar on ample military spending” (3 September 2026); Al Jazeera, “Türkiye’s Roketsan eyes top 10 exporter rank” (16 April 2026); anews.com.tr, “Roketsan targets $1 billion in exports” (8 May 2026).

Al Jazeera’s April 2026 report placed ROKETSAN 71st among global defence firms at that point in the year; the Defense News Top 100 published in September 2026 puts it at 64th on $2.4 billion. The two figures are from different points in 2026 and are shown separately rather than merged, in line with each source’s own date.

What does ROKETSAN make? Product-family map

The table uses ROKETSAN’s own product-index categories and product names, as published on roketsan.com.tr (accessed 29 September 2026). Dedicated DefenceMENA guides for individual products, with range, guidance, platforms and operator evidence, will be added and linked here as they are published.

Longer-range strike systems: TAYFUN and BORA

ROKETSAN also develops Türkiye’s BORA and TAYFUN short- and medium-range ballistic missile family, which does not appear on the company’s public product-index pages. What is publicly confirmed, under SSB oversight, is limited to development milestones and test results announced by SSB and covered by reputable defence press: Türkiye tested a TAYFUN Block-3 round against a moving sea target from the Sinop firing range on 4 July 2026 (Naval News; Janes), and ROKETSAN’s General Manager said in 2025 that Block-4 trials were approved with mass production planned for 2026 (Defense Mirror). In line with DefenceMENA’s editorial policy on long-range strike systems, this page reports development and public test information only; it does not include targeting guidance, trajectory data or operational-employment detail.

Newest unveiled products (2026)

At SAHA Expo 2026, ROKETSAN unveiled several new items, including a mini cruise missile with a stated range of 250 km launchable from UAVs, an anti-tank missile design called Cida with a stated range above 55 km, and AI-assisted target-recognition features on new munitions and in production-line software (anews.com.tr, 8 May 2026). These are recent unveilings rather than fielded, catalogued products; DefenceMENA will track them for separate coverage once operational or export status is publicly confirmed.

ROKETSAN and ASELSAN: how the air-defence partnership works

ROKETSAN is a missile and subsystem supplier, not the system prime, on Türkiye’s layered air-defence programmes. ASELSAN is the lead integrator for HİSAR and for SİPER, while ROKETSAN supplies the missiles inside those systems. DefenceMENA’s ASELSAN air defence and counter-UAS systems guide covers the programme architecture in detail; this page does not repeat that breakdown. For background on how the two companies are financially linked, see “Who owns ROKETSAN?” above. For a Turkish-language account of one recent ROKETSAN-ASELSAN air-defence contract, see Envanter Media’s coverage of the €1.234 billion deal.

Where are ROKETSAN systems used?

ROKETSAN says it exports to about 50 countries, but company-wide export figures are not the same as confirmed use of a specific product in a specific country. DefenceMENA applies its evidence rules to each claim rather than inferring product-level use from a general export or cooperation statement.

One confirmed public contract is Malaysia’s order for ROKETSAN’s ATMACA anti-ship missile, covered in full on DefenceMENA with the development timeline, specifications and confirmed operators. A second confirmed export contract covers ROKETSAN’s KARAOK man-portable anti-tank missile: Malaysia ordered KARAOK in 2023 and received its first batch of 18 systems in April 2026, becoming KARAOK’s first foreign operator. ROKETSAN’s Wikimedia-documented CİRİT and MAM munitions have also been shown at defence exhibitions in Kyiv and across Europe, which demonstrates marketing reach rather than confirmed operator status on its own.

ROKETSAN’s SUNGUR short-range air defence missile is operational with the Turkish Land Forces Command since July 2022, and in August 2024 Türkiye and Indonesia signed a strategic agreement under which ROKETSAN will supply Indonesia with SUNGUR alongside the ÇAKIR cruise missile and MAM-L smart micro munition; public reporting does not yet confirm quantities or a contract value for that agreement.

DefenceMENA’s Turkish Anti-Tank Missiles Explained page covers ROKETSAN’s full anti-tank missile family — KARAOK, OMTAS and UMTAS/L-UMTAS — together with confirmed operators. The most significant finding there: Nigeria is the first confirmed African operator of a ROKETSAN anti-tank missile, having received 30 L-UMTAS laser-guided missiles delivered with four Turkish Aerospace T129 ATAK attack helicopters in 2023-2024.

For the fuller continent-wide picture, including six confirmed MAM-L operators found on Bayraktar TB2 drones (Libya, Morocco, Mali, Burkina Faso, Djibouti and Ethiopia) alongside Nigeria, see DefenceMENA’s ROKETSAN in Africa page.

DefenceMENA’s dedicated page on the MAM-L, MAM-C and MAM-T smart micro munition family sets out the munition-specific evidence available: Türkiye (operational since the mid-2010s), Azerbaijan (documented MAM-L strikes during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war) and Ukraine (documented MAM-L strikes from 2022 onward). No African or Middle Eastern country is yet confirmed by name as a MAM-series customer.

For the Gulf and wider Middle East, see DefenceMENA’s ROKETSAN in the Middle East hub: the UAE is ROKETSAN’s longest-standing Gulf customer (122mm rockets since 2001, CIRIT laser-guided missile since 2013), and Saudi Arabia signed cruise-missile and anti-tank guided missile cooperation and joint-production agreements with state-owned SAMI at the World Defense Show 2026.

For the full global picture across all regions — 14 countries outside Türkiye with confirmed product-level evidence, versus ROKETSAN’s own claim of nearly 50 export markets — see DefenceMENA’s Which Countries Use ROKETSAN Systems? roundup.

Careers at ROKETSAN

ROKETSAN recruits mainly engineers through its official careers portal at kariyer.roketsan.com.tr. Its “Yetenek Yönetimi” (Talent Management) programmes include R-FORCE CORE, a part-time candidate-engineer track for third- and fourth-year engineering students with a minimum 3.00/4.00 GPA who can work at least one day a week on-site, and STAGE, a mandatory-internship programme for students whose university requires a placement. A dedicated DefenceMENA careers guide for ROKETSAN, covering application windows, programme requirements and what is publicly known about pay, is planned for a coming publication run.

Frequently asked questions

What does ROKETSAN make?

ROKETSAN makes guided artillery rockets, air-defence missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, anti-tank guided weapons, loitering munitions, drone-launched smart micro-munitions (the MAM family), guidance kits and small-satellite launch systems. Its official product index groups these into seven families: Land Systems, Air Defence Systems, Naval Systems, Precision Guided Systems, Subsystems, Space Systems and Ballistic Protection Systems.

Who owns ROKETSAN?

The Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV) is ROKETSAN’s majority shareholder. ASELSAN, itself majority-owned by TSKGV, holds 14.897% of ROKETSAN. ROKETSAN is not publicly listed.

Who is the CEO of ROKETSAN?

Murat İkinci is ROKETSAN’s General Manager and President & CEO, in post through 2026, having previously led STM.

Is ROKETSAN the same company as ASELSAN?

No. They are separate companies that both trace back to the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, and ASELSAN holds a minority stake in ROKETSAN. ASELSAN focuses on defence electronics — radar, electronic warfare, sensors, communications; ROKETSAN focuses on rockets and missiles. The two are frequent partners on air-defence programmes, where ASELSAN typically leads system integration and ROKETSAN supplies the missile.

Where is ROKETSAN’s headquarters?

ROKETSAN is headquartered and mainly produces at Elmadağ, on the eastern side of Ankara province, Türkiye. It also operates newer sites at Lalahan (missile integration) and Kırıkkale (rocket fuel and propellant), both brought online in 2026.

How much does ROKETSAN export, and to how many countries?

ROKETSAN reported exports to about 50 countries and export revenue approaching $1 billion as of May 2026. Company-wide export figures do not by themselves confirm which specific ROKETSAN product is in service in which country; DefenceMENA publishes product-level operator evidence separately as it is confirmed.

Related on DefenceMENA

• What Does ASELSAN Make? Company, Products and Global Presence
• ASELSAN Air Defence and Counter-Drone Systems: KORKUT, GÖKDENİZ, HİSAR, SİPER and İHTAR
• Turkish Defence Systems in African Military Service
• Turkish Defence Companies Active in Africa in 2026
• Which African Countries Operate the Bayraktar AKINCI?
• Counter-Drone Systems in African Armies

Sources

• ROKETSAN: official website (accessed 29 September 2026)
• ROKETSAN: About Us
• ROKETSAN: official product index (accessed 29 September 2026)
• Defense News: “Defense firms soar on ample military spending” (3 September 2026)
• Al Jazeera: “Türkiye’s Roketsan eyes top 10 exporter rank” (16 April 2026)
• anews.com.tr: “Roketsan targets $1 billion in exports” (8 May 2026)
• Naval News: “Türkiye’s TAYFUN Block-3 ASBM scores direct hit on moving sea target” (July 2026)
• Janes: “Türkiye tests Tayfun Block-3 ballistic missile”
• Defense Mirror: “Turkey’s Roketsan to Begin Mass Production of Tayfun Block-4” (2025)
• Defence Turkey: “Murat İkinci Appointed as Roketsan’s New President & CEO”
• Campaign Against Arms Trade: ROKETSAN company profile
• Revelio Labs: ROKETSAN employee count data (August 2026)
• ASELSAN 2025 Annual Report (Faaliyet Raporu 2025), for ROKETSAN shareholding disclosure
• ROKETSAN: official careers portal