ANKARA – Turkey’s defense giant ASELSAN (Askeri Elektronik Sanayi, MilitaryElectronic Industries) is preparing to launch its offices in Pakistan fromJanuary 1, 2020.
The company is looking to strengthen its marketing openings as it is aimingto expand its defense transactions with Pakistan. It is also likely to openits base in Ukraine as well, according to the Turkish media.
Turkey and Pakistan are traditional allies who have a close and harmoniousrelationship. The recent consolidation of defense interests isunprecedented and it signifies a convergence of national interests of boththe nations. Pakistan has growing defense industry and wants to gain groundin the global market.——————————
Aselsan revealed that in November 2019, the company got a €176.9 millioncontract from ASFAT A.Ş (Military Factory and Shipyard Management Inc) tosupply subsystems for the Pakistan Navy’s four MILGEM (i.e., Jinnah-class)multi-mission corvettes/light frigates. This was Aselsan’s second largestcontract involving Pakistan – the first was a $254.73 million US deal inJuly for the Pakistan Army’s T129 ATAK attack helicopter program.
Back in July 2018, Pakistan’s Ministry of Defence Production (MoDP) signeda contract with ASFAT A.Ş for the four MILGEMs. The value of the PakistaniMILGEM contract is reportedly US$1.5 billion. The four ships are due fordelivery to the Pak Navy by 2023-2024, with the first ship set to arrive in2022-2023.
Under the contract, Pakistan’s Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KSEW)will manufacture two of the ships, with the other two being built inTurkey. Pakistan will also receive “complete transfer of technology and thetransfer of intellectual property for the design of (the MILGEM).”——————————
In the interim, Pakistan is a top buyer of military hardware from ASELSAN —as of late, on May 19, Pakistan Navy brought ‘torpedo rockets’ fromASELSAN, which is created to counter short proximity activities.
Read Top Stories
ASELSAN deals with manufacturing military equipment, which designs,develops and manufactures modern electronic systems for military andindustrial customers — worldwide well known for manufacturing electronicwarfare, weapons, command control and navigation systems.
It currently sells its products to 65 countries, and the company is aimingto expand its defense transactions.
The company also has offices in Azerbaijan, the Philippines, Qatar, Jordan,Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, South Africa, the United Arab Emiratesand Northern Macedonia. The localization efforts of the company in thecountries it operates boost its export capacity. The offices are run byTurkish general managers and employ local staff.
ASELSAN is expected to close 2019 with $2.9 billion in revenue as comparedto $1.87 billion in 2018.According to the Defense News Top 100 list 2018, ASELSAN ranked 52nd in thelist with $1.8 billion in defense revenue last year. Another reportpublished by the Swedish-based Stockholm International Peace ResearchInstitute (SIPRI) on Monday also revealed that ASELSAN ranked 54th amongthe largest 100 defense companies.
