Aselsan
Aselsan (, acronym: "Askeri Elektronik Sanayi", "Military Electronic Industries"), Aselsan A.Ş. is a Turkish defense corporation headquartered in Ankara, Turkey. Its main operating area is research, development and manufacture of advanced military products for air, land and maritime forces. The company is one of the major contractors of Turkish Armed Forces. Aselsan was ranked by "Defense News" as 48th largest defense company in terms of revenue. Turkish Army Foundation is the founder and major stockholder. History. Aselsan was founded by the Turkish Army Foundation in 1975 after US's decision to put an embargo on Turkey due to Cyprus Operation . The first CEO of ASELSAN was M. Hacim Kamoy. In early 1979, following an investment (for example, card payment systems) and infrastructure establishment period, ASELSAN started its production, at Macunköy facilities in Ankara. Since then, ASELSAN has expanded its product and customer portfolio, mostly based on indigenous research and development, locally trained personnel, and in cooperation with other Turkish research institutions and universities. Organization. ASELSAN designs, develops and manufactures modern electronic systems for military and industrial customers in Turkey and abroad. The company headquarters is located at Macunköy facilities in Ankara, Turkey. According to the field of activities, ASELSAN has  been organized in five business sectors: The HBT, REHIS, SST and UGES sectors have high-technology and automated infrastructure in engineering and production at Macunköy facilities. Electronic production includes surface mount technology, multilayer and flexible printed circuit boards, mechanical and mould productions, system integration and test fields. While the HBT sector's main product spectrum covers military and professional communications systems, REHIS sector's main operations are focused on radar, electronic warfare and SST sector's main operations are focused on command-control systems. The MGEO sector manufactures hybrid microelectronic circuits, night-vision devices, thermal cameras, laser ranger/designators and  inertial navigation systems at Akyurt facilities. In all business sectors, methodologies complying with military standards and ISO 9001 are applied using computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided engineering (CAE) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technologies. ASELSAN is a member of TÜMAKÜDER and IPC. Facilities. Radar and Electronic Warfare Technology Center. ASELSAN opened its new facility () in Gölbaşı district of Ankara on 16 March 2015. Built in three years to a cost of US$157 million, the site serves for the production of radar and electronic warfare equipment required by the Turkish Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), space and unmanned  platforms. The facility covers an area of on a land of . A total of 776 engineers, 261 technical personnel and more than 200 support personnel are employed in the center. The technology center serves for the design, research and development, production, test and logistic support of primarily long-range tracking air defense and fighter aircraft radar systems, as well as other radar and electronic warfare systems and antennas, microwave power modules and software. International expansion. ASELSAN has associated companies in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. Besides, the company announced in October 2015 that they are planning to  expand their South African business "by seeking partnerships to form a private company out of its local branch ASELSAN South Africa" Aselsan Baku. Aselsan Baku was founded on 11 February 1998 by Aselsan in Azerbaijan. It currently produces civil and military hand-held radios in Azerbaijan. The capital of the company was fully invested by Aselsan. The company, which will operate in the fields of sales, maintenance-repair and production and whose founding capital is determined as USD 500 thousand, has been the first company established by Aselsan abroad. The laser guidance kit produced by Aselsan in 2018 was integrated  into the ammunition developed by Azerbaijan. Aselsan Ukraine. Aselsan Ukraine was established on 1 September 2020 by Aselsan in Ukraine. Aselsan Middle East. Aselsan Middle East was established on 19 July 2012 by Aselsan in Jordan. Suicides and unexpected deaths. Between 2006 and 2009, four suspicious deaths occurred of young engineers who were working at Aselsan on highly strategic encryption and decryption projects. The cases were initially declared as suicides. Three of the four cases were relaunched in 2011 to investigate a possible link to Ergenekon. On 7 August 2006, Hüseyin Başbilen, a 31-year-old mechanical engineer working for  ten years at Aselsan as a production engineer, was found dead in his car at Pursaklar, Ankara. His left wrist and throat were cut, his head was under the glove compartment on the passenger's side and his feet were up on the driver's seat. In 2009, a court ruled that it was suicide. In 2011, the case was reopened as part of the "Ergenekon" investigation. On 16 January 2007, 30-year-old Halim Ünsem Ünal was found dead, shot by a handgun, in his car at Gölbaşı, Ankara. The METU-graduate electrical engineer had working for three years  for ASELSAN. On 26 January 2007, another electrical engineer, Evrim Yançeken, age 26, fell from the balcony of his sixth-floor apartment at Batıkent, Ankara. In a note he left behind, he claimed responsibility for his death. The cases were closed as suicides with little or no investigation. On 7 October 2007, Burhaneddin Volkan was dead from a gunshot wound in the sentry officer's room of the Military Band School, where he had been working. Following graduation Hacettepe University in 2005, he worked for two years at Aselsan's aviation command and control center as a software engineer. After  his three colleagues committed suicide, he had experienced psychological problems and returned to his family. On 25 January 2012, Hakan Öksüz died in a car accident, crashing into the traffic barrier at a major junction on the south beltway of Ankara. He was employed as an engineer at Aselsan's facility in Akyurt, Ankara. On 15 January 2015, 28-year-old Erdem Uğur was found dead, poisoned by LPG in his home at Çankaya, Ankara. Lying in bed, a hose was leading inside his mouth from a gas cylinder he had ordered two days before. A note with "Caution! Gas  was attached to the entrance of the apartment. He was a graduate of Dokuz Eylül University in İzmir and had been working as a magnetic field expert for Aselsan since 14 February 2014. After the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, former prosecutor and associate of the Gülen movement Murat Demir, after being arrested, claimed that the Gülen movement was responsible for the deaths. Products. Aselsan is present in many areas, especially in defense industry product supply and research and development activities.