Four Turkish companies on Top 100 defense firms list

ISTANBUL

Four Turkish companies have made it to the prestigious Defense News 100 list for 2023, all climbing up on the ladder from the previous year’s rankings with three of them climbing from the previous year while one entering the list for the first time.

Aselsan claimed the 47th spot, up from the previous year’s ranking of 49. The company’s total revenues were $2.16 billion in 2022. Some 93 percent of Aselsan’s total revenues came from defense sales, which stood at $2bn, down from $2.25bn in 2021.

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) moved from the 67th place in 2021 to rank 58 last year with its defense sales rising by 14 percent to $1.48 billion. TAI generated 81 percent of total revenues from defense sales.

Roketsan, which managed to boost its income by 7 percent last year from 2021, ranked 80th, up from the previous year’s 86th.

This week, Aselsan, Roketsan and drone maker Baykar signed agreements with Saudi Arabian firms.

Aselsan sealed a memorandum of understanding with the National Company for Mechanical Systems (NCMS) on electro-optical systems and guidance kit technologies.

Roketsan and NCMS also signed an agreement on smart munitions and guidance kit technologies.

Fast-growing Baykar, which is not on the list, inked a deal with SAMI (Saudi Arabia Military Industries) for the local production of unmanned aerial vehicles in Saudi Arabia.

ASFAT (Askeri Fabrika ve Tersane İşletme) entered the Top 100 list for the first time this year. It ranked 100th

The company’s defense revenues leaped by 149 percent from $178 million in 2021 to $444 million in 2022. All revenues of ASFAT, which was founded in 2018, came from defense sales.

Lockheed Martin top the list with $63.3 billion in defense revenues, down 2 percent from 2021, while its total revenues amounted to $66 billion. RTX came second. It also saw its defense revenues drop 5 percent to $39.6 billion, followed by Northrop Grumman with defense revenues at $32.4 billion.

Aviation Industry Cooperation of China and Boeing ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

One of the surprises from the data is that 49 of the top 100 each reported a decline in defense sales from FY21 to FY22, said an article on Defense News.

That may come as a surprise, but then this is generally a long-cycle business, and the translation of results from local currency to U.S. dollars is also worth considering, it added.

“The Russia-Ukraine war has led to defense spending increases, particularly in Europe, but it’s taking time for budgets to translate to sales growth. Part of this is the simple task of getting contracts, but there are labor and supply network constraints to work through.”