Haluk Görgün, Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Manager of ASELSAN, met with members of the press at the ASELSAN Social Facilities and answered questions about the topics on the agenda.
Asked about CATS, the electro-optical reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting system developed by ASELSAN for aerial platforms, especially unmanned aerial vehicles, Görgün said that the deliveries continue and the products are being used.
Görgün stated that the final corrections of CATS have been made and said:
“It will improve as feedback is received from the user. Not just CATS, but a family of reconnaissance and surveillance systems, we build and design them for different platforms. CATS is a product in use, let me share this good news with you. It will also be exhibited at TEKNOFEST. It is a very difficult platform. It is a product where many disciplines come together, you work these disciplines together, and the limits of technology are pushed. Our team worked very diligently. Increasing its altitude will continue to improve image quality. With yesterday’s delivery, the number was 13. 3 will be delivered by the end of the month and the number will be 16. Our goal is to produce 6 CATS every month. We have the capacity and infrastructure to further increase this according to the needs.”
Görgün stated that Baykar made a significant contribution to the finalization of the product. Emphasizing that ASELSAN has developed its own unique product with CATS, Görgün said, “CATS is in use at home and abroad. A Canadian company had a product and they were supplying cameras. We have produced a product as a competitor and the success is obvious, it is preferred and used.”
Reminding that the establishment of ASELSAN was based on an embargo, Görgün said, “There is a technology and defense giant that has become one of the world’s top 50 companies thanks to the embargo.” made its assessment.
Hava savunma sistemleri ve radarlar
Stating that the air defense systems Hisar-A and Hisar-O, within the scope of Hisar projects, have been successfully tested at a range and altitude above the contracted ones, Görgün stated that the systems were named Hisar A+ and Hisar O+ because they exceed all requests.
Explaining that ASELSAN, ROKETSAN and TÜBİTAK SAGE have been working diligently for the long-range air defense system Siper, Görgün said, “There are progress and developments. There are different approaches to speed it up. All of this is at the table, working together. Successes at Hisar also increase the motivation of the teams. I see our engineers in the field. Working as a team. Everyone is working day and night to meet these needs, to save our country’s needs in this sense from being dependent on foreign sources,” he said.
Haluk Görgün said that by the end of 2021, there will be a wide range of radar product deliveries. Stating that the long-range early warning radar system (EIRS) is under test in the field, Görgün said, “We observed that it made detections from very long distances.” he said.
Export contract target of 500 million dollars in 2021
Haluk Görgün stated that ASELSAN is aware of its responsibilities regarding the National Space Program and is working diligently on this issue.
Görgün, who gave information about their export targets, said, “This year, we have a target not to fall below last year’s, we aim to exceed 500 million dollars in exports (contract signing).” said.
New investment in energy
Stating that they have serious studies on solar and wind energy, Görgün said, “We are discussing a very serious 2-digit million dollar investment in renewable energy on our agenda. Opportunities are very important to us.” used the phrases.
When asked about the details of the investment, Görgün said, “It is a product in the field of production, testing and qualification of domestic and national products in the field of renewable energy. There are some contracts we are waiting for. We think that we will sign those contracts soon. Sub-designs, contents and all kinds of preparations were made before signing the contracts. We built this lab by observing the opportunity there.” gave the answer.
Pointing out that the number of personnel working for civilian needs at ASELSAN was around 400 three years ago, Görgün stated that the number of employees working in these areas has reached nearly a thousand with increasing projects.
