Who Owns ROKETSAN? Ownership, State Ties & Shares

ROKETSAN is majority-owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV), which holds 55% of its shares. The remaining stakes belong to state-linked defence and finance institutions: ASELSAN (15%), MKE (15%), VakıfBank (10%) and other shareholders (5%). ROKETSAN is not publicly traded and its shares cannot be bought on the stock market.

55%

TSKGV stake

15%

ASELSAN

15%

MKE

Listed on the stock exchange

ROKETSAN Ownership — At a Glance
Full name	ROKETSAN Roket Sanayii ve Ticaret A.Ş.
Controlling owner	Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV) — 55%
Other shareholders	ASELSAN, MKE, VakıfBank, others
Legal form	Joint-stock company (A.Ş.)
Publicly traded?	No — not listed on any exchange
Headquarters	Ankara (Elmadağ; Lalahan, Kırıkkale)
CEO/GM	Murat İkinci
Employees	~5,000 (~2,000 in R&D)

Who owns ROKETSAN?

ROKETSAN is controlled by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, known in Turkish as the Türk Silahlı Kuvvetlerini Güçlendirme Vakfı or TSKGV. The foundation holds a 55% majority stake, which makes ROKETSAN a foundation-controlled company rather than a business owned by private investors or listed on a stock exchange. This single fact is the key to understanding almost everything about how the company is governed and financed.

The rest of the shares are divided among institutions that are themselves closely tied to the Turkish state and defence sector. Two other major Turkish defence and industrial firms, ASELSAN and MKE, each hold 15%, while the state-linked lender VakıfBank holds 10%. A remaining 5% is spread across other shareholders. In practice, this means ROKETSAN sits firmly within Türkiye’s public defence ecosystem, even though it operates day to day as a commercial joint-stock company (Anonim Şirketi, abbreviated A.Ş.). The full legal name of the company is ROKETSAN Roket Sanayii ve Ticaret A.Ş.

Because the controlling owner is a public foundation and every significant shareholder is state-linked, ROKETSAN is widely described as a state-controlled defence company. There is no single private individual or family that owns it, and no foreign shareholder holds a stake. This ownership model is common among Türkiye’s strategic defence manufacturers, and it is one of the reasons the government can treat companies like ROKETSAN as long-term national assets rather than as ordinary commercial ventures that might be sold, floated or acquired.

It is worth stressing what ownership does not mean here. ROKETSAN is not run directly by the armed forces, and it is not a branch of the Ministry of National Defence. It has its own management, led by General Manager Murat İkinci, its own roughly 5,000-strong workforce (of whom about 2,000 work in research and development), and it competes for contracts and export orders like any other manufacturer. Ownership sets the strategic direction and keeps control in public hands; the company itself operates as an industrial business.

ROKETSAN is majority-owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV), a public defence foundation based in Ankara.

ROKETSAN ownership structure

ROKETSAN’s shareholding is straightforward and has remained stable for years. The table below shows the officially reported breakdown of who holds shares in the company. There are five entries, and four of the five are directly linked to the Turkish state or its defence foundation.

TSKGV (55%) — the controlling shareholder and the reason ROKETSAN is classed as a foundation company. A 55% holding gives the foundation a clear majority in any shareholder vote.
ASELSAN (15%) — Türkiye’s largest defence electronics firm, itself majority-owned by TSKGV. Its stake creates a close industrial link between the two companies, which frequently cooperate on guided-weapon and sensor programmes.
MKE (15%) — the state ammunition and weapons manufacturer (formerly MKEK), a natural partner for a company that produces rockets, missiles and munitions.
VakıfBank (10%) — a large Turkish bank with significant state ownership, providing the financial-institution presence on the shareholder register.
Other (5%) — remaining minority holdings.

What stands out from this list is the absence of any private, foreign or purely financial investor with meaningful influence. Because ASELSAN is itself a TSKGV company, the foundation’s combined direct and indirect weight over ROKETSAN is greater than the headline 55% figure. This concentration of control within the public defence sector is deliberate: it keeps sensitive missile and air-defence technology under national ownership.

ROKETSAN ownership structure

Shareholder	Stake
Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV)	55%
ASELSAN	15%
MKE	15%
VakıfBank	10%
Other	5%

ROKETSAN shares are held by state-linked institutions and are not listed on Borsa İstanbul or any stock exchange.

What is the TSKGV?

The Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV) is a public foundation established to strengthen Türkiye’s national defence industry. It was created to give the country a domestic base for developing and producing military technology instead of relying on imports, and it does this largely by owning controlling or major stakes in the country’s leading defence companies rather than by manufacturing anything itself.

Through the foundation, the Turkish state maintains long-term ownership of strategic defence manufacturers. TSKGV is the controlling shareholder not only in ROKETSAN but also in ASELSAN and several other well-known Turkish defence firms. Because ASELSAN is itself a TSKGV company and also holds 15% of ROKETSAN, the foundation’s effective influence over ROKETSAN is even greater than its direct 55% stake suggests. In effect, the foundation forms the backbone of Türkiye’s home-grown defence sector.

The foundation model matters for anyone trying to understand ROKETSAN. It explains why the company can pursue long-term, strategically sensitive weapons programmes — such as ballistic missiles, air-defence systems and cruise missiles — without the short-term pressures that come with being a publicly listed, profit-maximising corporation answerable to stock-market investors. Development cycles for these systems can run for many years and demand sustained investment; foundation ownership provides the stability and patience that such programmes require.

This structure also helps explain ROKETSAN’s recent expansion. The company has been investing heavily in new production and integration facilities, including plants opened in 2026 at Lalahan (missile integration) and Kırıkkale (propellant production), with total investment reported above one billion dollars and a goal of increasing missile-production capacity roughly fivefold. Such long-horizon, strategically motivated investment fits naturally with a foundation owner focused on national capability rather than quarterly returns.

Is ROKETSAN a state company? Can you buy shares?

ROKETSAN is best described as a state-controlled company. It is not a government ministry or agency, and it operates commercially as a joint-stock company that wins contracts, exports its products and manages its own workforce. But because a public foundation holds the majority and every meaningful shareholder is state-linked, control ultimately rests with the Turkish state rather than with private owners. Analysts and news outlets therefore routinely refer to ROKETSAN as a state-owned or state-backed defence firm, and that description is accurate in substance even if the company is not formally part of the government.

ROKETSAN is not publicly traded. Its shares are not listed on Borsa İstanbul (BİST) or on any other stock exchange, so ordinary investors cannot buy ROKETSAN stock. This sets it apart from some other Turkish defence names — for example, ASELSAN is partly listed and its shares can be traded on the exchange — whereas ROKETSAN’s equity stays entirely within its foundation and institutional shareholders. There is no ticker symbol, no free float and no market price for ROKETSAN.

For anyone researching how to invest in ROKETSAN, the short answer is that there is no direct way to do so. The only indirect exposure to ROKETSAN’s business comes through shareholders that are themselves listed, such as ASELSAN, but that is exposure to those companies rather than to ROKETSAN itself. As of the latest verified information, no plans for a ROKETSAN initial public offering or share sale to the public have been officially disclosed. If that ever changes, it would be announced through official company and regulatory channels, and this article would be updated accordingly.

In summary: ROKETSAN is owned and controlled by the Turkish state through the TSKGV foundation and its associated institutions; it is not a private company; and it is not available to buy on any stock market.

ACCURACY NOTE

ROKETSAN’s ownership breakdown (TSKGV 55%, ASELSAN 15%, MKE 15%, VakıfBank 10%, other 5%) reflects the officially reported structure. ROKETSAN is not listed on any stock exchange, and any future change to this arrangement would need to be confirmed against official company and foundation disclosures.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns ROKETSAN?

ROKETSAN is majority-owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV), which holds 55% of the shares. ASELSAN and MKE each hold 15%, VakıfBank holds 10%, and other shareholders account for the remaining 5%.

Is ROKETSAN a state-owned company?

Effectively, yes. Its controlling owner is a public foundation (TSKGV) and every significant shareholder is state-linked, so ROKETSAN is a state-controlled defence company. It is not, however, a government department — it runs as a commercial joint-stock company.

Can I buy ROKETSAN shares on the stock market?

No. ROKETSAN is not publicly traded and is not listed on Borsa İstanbul or any other exchange, so its shares cannot be bought by ordinary investors. No public offering has been officially disclosed.

What is the TSKGV?

The Türk Silahlı Kuvvetlerini Güçlendirme Vakfı (Turkish Armed Forces Foundation) is a public foundation that strengthens Türkiye’s defence industry by holding controlling or major stakes in leading defence companies, including ROKETSAN and ASELSAN.

What is ASELSAN’s stake in ROKETSAN?

ASELSAN holds 15% of ROKETSAN. Because ASELSAN is itself a TSKGV company, the foundation’s overall influence over ROKETSAN is even stronger than its direct 55% stake implies.

Does any private or foreign investor own ROKETSAN?

No single private individual, family or foreign investor holds a stake. Ownership is concentrated in the TSKGV foundation and Turkish state-linked institutions.