23.10.2026 12:03
The British Financial Times wrote that ASELSAN's KORKUT air defense system has been used against kamikaze drones in nine countries, including Ukraine. ASELSAN General Manager Ahmet Akyol said that the cost of destroying a drone with KORKUT is below 10 thousand dollars. According to the newspaper, the company's order portfolio has approached 30 billion dollars.
(ANKARA) -
The UK-based Financial Times (FT) examined Turkey's rapidly growing defense industry and its rise in the international market. Drawing attention to the fact that ASELSAN's KORKUT air defense system is used in nine countries, the newspaper wrote that Turkey became the world's 11th-largest arms exporter last year with $10 billion in exports.
In its article titled "Turkey markets $10,000 drone defense system," FT noted that the increasing prevalence of cheap attack drones on the battlefield is pushing countries toward lower-cost air defense systems, and that Turkey is standing out in this market with systems such as KORKUT.
IT MAY HAVE DESTROYED HUNDREDS OF DRONES
ASELSAN General Manager Ahmet Akyol, whose views were included in the FT article, said that KORKUT is used in nine countries against kamikaze drones produced based on Iran's Shahed drones and has destroyed "perhaps hundreds of drones." Akyol, who stated that KORKUT is used in Ukraine, described the system as "the most feasible way to destroy drones in terms of effectiveness and cost."
The report stated that the Ukrainian Air Force also confirmed that a Ukrainian unit was equipped with an unspecified number of KORKUT systems.
THE COST OF DOWNING A DRONE IS UNDER $10,000
Drawing attention to KORKUT's economic advantage, Akyol said, "The cost of destroying a Shahed or a kamikaze drone with KORKUT is under $10,000." Akyol, pointing to the Russia-Ukraine war and recent conflicts in the Gulf, said that using only missiles against such attacks is "not economically feasible."
ORDER PORTFOLIO APPROACHED $30 BILLION
FT described ASELSAN as one of the companies at the center of Turkey's growing defense industry. The report noted that the company, which has reached a market value of approximately $32 billion, has an order portfolio approaching $30 billion, and that the share of international markets in sales rose to 25% from 8% in 2023. General Manager Akyol said they aim to increase this share to 50% by 2030.
The article conveyed that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had previously described ASELSAN as one of the companies at the forefront of Turkey's "defense industry revolution."
Ahmet Akyol, meanwhile, said that NATO allies continue to be ASELSAN's main market, but that Gulf countries have also become "a very important and very large market."