Southeast Asia is a Strategic Growth Region for ASELSAN: CEO Ahmet Akyol

Our Bureau - : Nov 8, 2025 - : 8:46 pm

Turkish defence firm ASELSAN is accelerating its growth plans for Southeast Asia with several regional offices established and operational. “Southeast Asia is a strategic growth region for ASELSAN, and Thailand occupies a pivotal position, not only as a customer but...

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Turkish defence firm ASELSAN is accelerating its growth plans for Southeast Asia with several regional offices established and operational.

“Southeast Asia is a strategic growth region for ASELSAN, and Thailand occupies a pivotal position, not only as a customer but as a long-term partner,” Ahmet Akyol, ASELSAN President & CEO, told GBP Daily News in this exclusive interview.

Thailand has an extensive military modernization program underway. How, in your opinion, can the Armed Forces of Thailand benefit from what ASELSAN has to offer in terms of products and capabilities?

Thailand’s defense modernization program spans naval, land, and air platforms, and as ASELSAN we are ready to support across all domains. For naval modernization, we offer full-system solutions that include air defense systems, weapon systems, radars, electro-optical sensors, and integrated communications, all of which can be retrofitted onto existing frigates or corvettes or integrated into new platforms.

On land, our vehicle modernization and C4ISR capabilities cover tactical communications, electronic warfare, sensor suites, and optronics for both wheeled and tracked platforms. All of these can be customized to Thai operational needs and integrated seamlessly with local systems and infrastructure. What matters most is delivering coherent and interoperable solutions, not just individual subsystems.

How important a market is Southeast Asia in general and Thailand in particular for your company?

Southeast Asia is a strategic growth region for ASELSAN, and Thailand occupies a pivotal position, not only as a customer but as a long-term partner. Our regional strategy has already established representative offices and partnerships in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and we see Thailand as a natural extension of this network.

We view Thailand not just as a market for procurement, but as a base for collaboration, local industrial participation, and technology partnership. This regional approach reflects ASELSAN’s broader strategy of combining local engagement with global growth. ASELSAN’s global expansion vision, aligned with its aselsaneXt transformation program, aims to position the company among the world’s top 30 defense companies by the end of the decade.

What are the opportunities for ASELSAN in Thailand?

There are several opportunity areas that stand out:

Naval platform modernization and new builds: Whether upgrading existing ships with new radars, combat management systems, and sensors, or supporting new vessel construction, Thailand can leverage ASELSAN’s extensive naval systems experience.

Land vehicle modernization: Upgrading communication, C2, and EW suites on armored vehicles to meet modern battlefield demands.

Integrated multi-domain solutions: Providing sensor-to-shooter chains that link naval, land, and air forces for unified situational awareness and decision-making.

Local industry cooperation and joint ventures: Working with Thai industry to build local production, maintenance, and lifecycle support capabilities.

These opportunities align closely with Thailand’s defense ambitions and ASELSAN’s proven competencies.

ASELSAN has always been open to joint development of products. How will it pursue Thailand’s requirements for the domestic defence industry, local production, and technology transfer?

At ASELSAN, co-development and local industrial participation are integral to our business model. For Thailand, we are ready to establish a comprehensive cooperation framework that may include joint ventures with local companies, licensed production of key subsystems, localization of assembly, training of the local workforce, and technology transfer in software, systems integration, and sustainment.

We always tailor the depth and scope of technology transfer to the partner’s goals to ensure sustainable local capability. As we have stated in recent interviews, local contribution is a cornerstone of our strategy, especially in Southeast Asia.

Each country in the region faces a unique set of challenges. How is ASELSAN tailoring solutions according to the needs of its customers in the region?

Every country has its own operational environment, doctrine, terrain, and threat spectrum, so a one-size-fits-all approach simply does not work. At ASELSAN, we start by understanding the customer’s mission requirements in detail.

Our modular and open-architecture systems allow us to adapt sensor modes, communication protocols, EW libraries, vehicle electronics, naval subsystems, and integration frameworks to local conditions. This flexibility enables rapid adaptation to emerging threats and ensures long-term interoperability.

As we frequently emphasize, ASELSAN’s focus is on innovation speed, system integration, and mission effectiveness rather than individual product sales.

Please provide an insight into ASELSAN’s presence at D&S Bangkok?

Our participation at Defense & Security 2025 in Bangkok demonstrates ASELSAN’s strong commitment to Southeast Asia. We are showcasing cutting-edge solutions in naval systems, air defense, electro-optics, communications, and unmanned systems, all of which reflect our modular, scalable, and export-ready design philosophy.

This exhibition also provides a valuable opportunity to engage directly with the Royal Thai Armed Forces and local defense industry. We aim to demonstrate not only our technology portfolio but also our partnership philosophy — built on trust, transparency, and shared capability development. We look forward to deepening our engagement with Thailand and contributing to the country’s defense modernization and self-reliance goals.