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INTERVIEW
“ OUR VISION IS TO
MAKE SOMETHING
BETTER THAN OTHERS”
Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol says as As you know, here at Aselsan we had some logistic centres, but we
Türkiye’s leading defence company have a huge portfolio of products now hope to grow our presence in
and a global technology company, related to defence electronics the Philippines with the new local
“we will be closely monitoring the and we can support equipment office.
changing scene, new trends and and services for the maritime,
threats in the global warfare and on air and land domains, all at the Some of our electronics and
the battlefield in the coming years.” same time. The Philippines is Electro Optics are already
Excerpts from interviews conducted modernising its armed forces and deployed with the Armed Forces
by Jay Menon and Atul Chandra, we are ready to supply our latest of the Philippines. In cooper-
at the ADEX and ADAS shows in technology to meet these require- ation with some shipyards in
Azerbaijan and the Philippines. ments, whether it is modernisation the region, we are supplying
of existing equipment or new the Gokdeniz Close-In Weapon
Q At ADEX, we witnessed the keen- procurements. System (CIWS), which will be
ness of lham Aliyev, President of installed on new Frigates being
Azerbaijan, in Aselsan’s products Our focus is on building local built for the Philippines. So we will
during his visit to the show. have some additional projects for
capabilities and we are very good these air defence systems. Some
Aselsan is not new to Azerbaijan. at this, because we ourselves of our equipment is also fitted on
We have been here for several started from scratch 50 years T-129 ‘Atak’ helicopters with the
years, and we are the main ago. Aselsan was established Philippine Air Force.
suppliers of military communica- in 1975 with four engineers and
tion and information systems to today we have 11,000 engineers Q What are some of the key
the armed forces of Azerbaijan. and coupled with our subsidiar- factors that helped the company
Now we have seen interest from ies, we have 15,000 engineers. put up such an extraordinary
Azerbaijan in our Aselflir-500 We know very well how to build financial performance for the first
high-performance new generation local capability and our policy is half of 2024?
15” electro-optical reconnais- to help and work closely together
sance, surveillance and targeting with our local partners to create a We are one of the fastest growing
system designed for fixed and partnership with the Philippines. companies in the world. We made
rotary wing airborne platforms. We know all the challenges, a significant leap in the annual
Discussions are underway. especially those related to mari- “TOP 100 Defence Companies
Azerbaijan is also showing inter- time requirements and we have List” of Defense News climbing to
est in guided munitions such as different types of solutions to 42nd position, up from 47th in the
our Tolun, which can engage soft meet any requirement. In support last year’s list. This achievement
and hardened multiple targets of our vision, just last month we underscores Aselsan’s strong
simultaneously. decided to open Aselsan’s local commitment to global expansion
office in the Philippines and have strategy and innovation in the
Q Please elaborate on your plans appointed a Country Director in defence sector. We are also
and presence in the Philippine Manila. In the past we have done investing for future technologies,
Defence Market? some work in the Philippines and even while providing solutions for
ASIAN DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY AUGUST - OCTOBER 2024 | 9
