# Türkiye’s €1.23 billion ‘Steel Dome’ deal boosts homegrown air defense and reshapes its role in NATO

*Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 8:09 AM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-09-23T08:09:13.099Z (2h ago)
**Category**: geopolitics | **Region**: Middle East
**Importance**: 6/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/18631.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: Turkish firms ASELSAN and ROKETSAN have signed a €1.23 billion agreement to build subsystems for Türkiye’s Çelik Kubbe (‘Steel Dome’) layered air‑defence system, pairing domestic radars and missiles in a national shield.

Türkiye is putting serious money behind its push for independent air defense. Defence companies ASELSAN and ROKETSAN have agreed a €1.23 billion subsystem deal to jointly build key components of the country’s Çelik Kubbe, or “Steel Dome,” layered air‑defence system.

Under the agreement, ASELSAN will take responsibility for radars, seekers and fire‑control systems, while ROKETSAN will produce the missiles. The result is intended to be a national, layered network that can engage aerial threats at different ranges and heights.

For Turkish citizens and the armed forces, the system is meant to provide more reliable protection against drones, aircraft and missiles in a region where such threats are no longer theoretical. Conflicts from Ukraine to the South Caucasus have shown how cheap unmanned systems and precision strikes can damage armour, bases and critical infrastructure.

The deal also reflects Ankara’s broader drive to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers. Türkiye has faced restrictions and delays on Western arms sales in recent years. Building Çelik Kubbe at home keeps more of the technology and jobs inside the country and limits vulnerability to export bans if political relations with Western partners sour.

Inside NATO, a stronger Turkish national air shield along the alliance’s southeastern flank could add useful capacity. At the same time, Ankara’s emphasis on its own systems underlines its desire for greater strategic autonomy within the alliance and reinforces its growing role as an arms producer and exporter.

The key developments to watch now are how quickly Çelik Kubbe moves from contract to testing and deployment, whether elements of the system are offered to export customers, and how NATO integrates Turkish‑built radars and missiles into its wider air‑defence network.