Roketsan boosts R&D budget to $220M in 2024

Roketsan aims to increase its research and development (R&D) budget to ₺7.5 billion ($220 million) for 2024, reinforcing its leadership in the defense industry.

Murat Ikinci, general manager of Roketsan, told Turkish Time magazine on Tuesday that the company has become an important power in Türkiye’s defense sector thanks to its R&D efforts and is in a position to compete with world giants with its exports.

“At Roketsan, we are proud to be a Turkish company that competes with world giants with our exports while strengthening Türkiye’s defense sector with our state-of-the-art products through our R&D activities,” Ikinci said.

Since its inception, the company has made significant physical and intellectual investments in the rocket and missile fields and has adopted R&D and innovation as an integral part of its corporate culture.

Roketsan R&D strategy and collaborations

Through its product and technology development activities, Roketsan develops domestic national products that catch up with today’s technologies and aims to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign countries through nationalization efforts. It also enhances its sector-pioneering position by investing in future technologies.

The company carries out its R&D activities in cooperation with universities, research centers, institutes, technology development zones, and technology transfer offices. In this context, important projects such as the Tubitak 1004 Center of Excellence Support Program, the Tubitak 2244 Industrial PhD Fellowship Program, the Industry-Oriented Undergraduate Graduation Program, and the Researcher Training Program for the Defense Industry are carried out.

Investments in 2023

In 2023, Roketsan allocated a budget of ₺4.16 billion ($122.2 million) for 154 R&D projects, equivalent to 19 percent of its turnover. 134 of these projects involved R&D collaborations with 81 institutions/organizations and 5 universities. The total budget for R&D projects with universities amounted to ₺10.3 million ($302.150).

In 2022, the company applied for 22 patents, 1 utility model, and 6 international patents. The company made a registration decision for 21 patent applications from previous years. In the first half of 2024, nine patents and one international patent application were filed. Roketsan aims to increase the number of patents and long-term capacity.

Future strategies

Planning to increase its R&D budget to over ₺7.5 billion ($220 million) in 2024, Roketsan aims to conduct new studies in areas such as satellite launch technologies, innovative weapon systems, navigation, propulsion, control, warheads, ballistic protection, advanced materials, energy storage, and terminal guidance technologies.

“As we have done so far, we will continue to offer the most appropriate solutions for the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces and security forces through our R&D activities in the coming years, and we will continue to be our country’s flag bearer worldwide,” said Ikinci, summarizing the company’s vision for the future.