Türkiye enters exclusive infrared detector club with ASELSAN VIDEO

Turkish defence giant ASELSAN has developed the country’s first domestically produced infrared detector, marking a significant step toward reducing Türkiye’s reliance on foreign technology for advanced military sensing systems.

The newly unveiled electro-optical technology can operate in both cooled and uncooled configurations, according to the company's statement, allowing it to be adapted to different platforms and mission requirements.

The technology could be integrated across a wide range of Türkiye’s military systems, including drones, missiles, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles. Infrared detectors are critical components of electro-optical systems, enabling thermal imaging, target detection, acquisition and precision tracking, particularly in low-visibility conditions.

Elektro-optik sistemlerimizin en kritik bileşenlerini de milli imkanlarla geliştiriyoruz. 🇹🇷
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Mikroelektronik sistemlerdeki yetkinliğimizle Türkiye’yi kızılötesi dedektör üreten sayılı ülkelerden biri konumuna taşıdık.#ASELSAN
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We develop the most critical components of our… pic.twitter.com/1EZVWFaDon

— ASELSAN (@aselsan) August 3, 2026

As an analysis on the technology published by The Defense Post outlet points out, only a limited number of countries currently possess the capability to develop them domestically because of the technological complexity involved in producing military-grade infrared detectors

ASELSAN’s achievement could therefore strengthen Türkiye’s defence-industrial independence by reducing its dependence on foreign suppliers and ensuring greater control over a key component used in advanced targeting and surveillance systems.

The company said the technology builds on its expertise in microelectronics and places Türkiye among the relatively small number of countries capable of producing infrared detectors domestically.

The technology is expected to support Türkiye’s growing range of indigenous defence platforms, including the electro-optical systems used on its KAAN fifth-generation fighter jet.

Beyond thermal imaging, infrared sensing plays an important role in modern targeting systems by detecting the heat signatures of objects and enabling weapons and platforms to track targets with greater precision.

ASELSAN has increasingly focused on developing critical components domestically as Türkiye seeks to expand its defence exports and reduce vulnerabilities associated with dependence on foreign suppliers.

By Nazrin Sadigova