Turkish Aerospace
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI — TUSAŞ, Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayii A.
- Founded
- 1984
- Headquarters
- Ankara, Turkey
- Ownership
- Private
- Employees
- 17,000as of 2026
Quick Facts
About Turkish Aerospace
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI — TUSAŞ, Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayii A.Ş.), headquartered in Ankara's Kahramankazan district and founded in 1984, is Turkey's national aerospace prime contractor — designing and manufacturing military and civilian aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, and space systems for the Turkish Armed Forces and export customers, while serving as the anchor of Turkey's ambition to develop an indigenous space industrial capability.
TAI is best known internationally for its UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) programs including the ANKA medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UCAV — a domestically developed UAV used by the Turkish military for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike missions — and for manufacturing F-16 fighters under license and various helicopter and transport aircraft programs. The defense aerospace success has generated both the financial resources and the systems integration experience that TAI is now applying to space systems development.
In the space domain, TAI is developing TÜRKSAT 6A — Turkey's first domestically designed and manufactured geostationary communications satellite, which will validate Turkey's entire GEO satellite design and manufacturing capability chain. The TÜRKSAT 6A program involves TAI as prime contractor with TÜBİTAK UZAY (Space Technologies Research Institute) for avionics, ROKETSAN for satellite propulsion, and ASELSAN for communications payload electronics — engaging Turkey's entire defense electronics industrial ecosystem in satellite manufacturing for the first time. TÜRKSAT 6A's successful completion would represent a major milestone in Turkey's National Space Program.
TAI also develops and manufactures Göktürk series Earth observation satellites for the Turkish Armed Forces and intelligence services, having already delivered GÖKTÜRK-2 (2012, indigenously developed) and contributing to GÖKTÜRK-1 (2016, Airbus-built with Turkish participation). The company is developing GÖKTÜRK-3 with further domestic content, advancing toward full end-to-end indigenous satellite manufacturing capability.
Products and product lines
| Product | Line | Note |
|---|---|---|
| TÜRKSAT 6A | Communications satellite | Turkey's first domestically designed and manufactured geostationary communications satellite; TAI led structural design, manufacturing, thermal control, chemical propulsion, harness and mechanical ground equipment, and performed assembly, integration and testing in Ankara. |
| GÖKTÜRK-3 | Earth observation satellite (in development) | Synthetic aperture radar reconnaissance satellite for the Turkish Ministry of National Defence, with TAI as prime contractor alongside ASELSAN and TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute; contracted in 2013, now planned for launch around 2030 after repeated delays from an original 2019 target. |
| GÖKTÜRK-2 | Earth observation satellite (operational) | Indigenously developed optical reconnaissance satellite delivered in 2012, providing imagery to Turkish military and intelligence users. |
| Space Systems Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT) Center | Satellite manufacturing infrastructure | TAI's satellite AIT facility at its Ankara/Kahramankazan campus, with roughly 10,000 m² under roof including a 3,800 m² ISO-8 cleanroom able to handle multiple satellites up to 5 tonnes plus an ISO-6 mobile cleanroom, used for assembly, harness manufacturing, and environmental/functional testing of satellites (including TÜRKSAT 6A) to ECSS standards before launch. |
Timeline
- 2013 TAI and Turkey's Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) sign the contract to begin indigenous design of the GÖKTÜRK-3 radar reconnaissance satellite. [source]
- 2015 TAI's Space Systems Assembly, Integration and Test Center at Kahramankazan, Ankara — built for the GÖKTÜRK-1 program and able to assemble/test satellites up to 5,000 kg — is officially opened on 21 May with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in attendance. [source]
- 2023 Dr. Mehmet Demiroğlu is appointed TUSAŞ General Manager (Genel Müdür) on 11 June, succeeding Prof. Dr. Temel Kotil, following the company's annual general meeting. [source]
- 2024 TÜRKSAT 6A, Turkey's first domestically manufactured geostationary communications satellite with TAI as structural/AIT lead, launches on 8 July aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral. [source]
- 2024 TÜRKSAT 6A reaches its assigned geostationary slot at 42°E in December, after post-launch orbit-raising and testing. [source]
- 2025 TÜRKSAT 6A formally enters commercial service on 21 April, with 16 active Ku-band and 2 active X-band transponders providing coverage across Turkey, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. [source]
Team
- Dr. Mehmet DemiroğluCEO · source
Signals
- Verification
- Verified 2026-09-09
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Frequently asked about Turkish Aerospace
Quick answers to the questions readers most often search for.
- When was Turkish Aerospace founded?
- Turkish Aerospace was founded in 1984 in Turkey.
- Where is Turkish Aerospace headquartered?
- Turkish Aerospace is headquartered in Ankara, Turkey.
- What does Turkish Aerospace do?
- Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI — TUSAŞ, Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayii A.Ş.), headquartered in Ankara's Kahramankazan district and founded in 1984, is Turkey's national aerospace prime contractor — designing and manufacturing military and civilian aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, and space systems fo…
- Is Turkish Aerospace a public or private company?
- Turkish Aerospace is a privately held company and is not listed on any stock exchange.
- What sector does Turkish Aerospace operate in?
- Turkish Aerospace works in satellite manufacturing and Aerospace.
Sources
The structured fields on this page (founding year, location, sector, status, listing) and the profile text are drawn from the sources below. How profiles are drafted and checked is described in our methodology.
- Official website (www.tusas.com)
- Wikidata / Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-09-04
- TUSAŞ: leadership handover announcement (11 June 2023) · retrieved 2026-09-06
- Daily Sabah: Türkiye's 1st indigenous satellite Türksat 6A set to enter service · retrieved 2026-09-06
- Wikipedia: Türksat 6A · retrieved 2026-09-06
- Wikipedia: Göktürk-3 · retrieved 2026-09-06
- TUSAŞ (TAI): Space Systems Assembly, Integration and Test Center · retrieved 2026-09-06
- Wikipedia: Turkish Space Systems, Integration and Test Center · retrieved 2026-09-06
Data Accuracy Notice: Information about Turkish Aerospace is compiled from publicly available sources including company websites, press releases, regulatory filings, and industry reports. Data is reviewed periodically but may not reflect the most recent developments.