Volkan: a Turkish ARFF option for Europe’s dispersed airfields
Crash tenders rarely feature in defence procurement debates, yet every military airfield that hosts fast jets or airlifters needs aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) cover to operate. Turkish manufacturer Volkan, which exhibited at INTERSCHUTZ 2026 in Hanover (1-6 June), is one of the few non-Western suppliers in that segment with a full product range, and it has been moving towards composite bodies and electrified drivetrains.
Lion: a composite-bodied ARFF truck
The company’s latest ARFF vehicle, the Lion, is the first in its fleet built with a full composite body and is marketed for both civil and military airports. Volkan says its ARFF vehicles are designed to ICAO and NFPA standards. Chairman İsa Tecim said in January 2025 that a hybrid ARFF vehicle was planned for the second half of 2025 and a fully electric model for the first half of 2026. No verified public information on delivery or certification of the electric variant was available at the time of writing.
Licensed production as an export model
In January 2025 Volkan signed a cooperation agreement with Saudi Sicli under which Volkan-designed vehicles will be built in a new factory in Saudi Arabia. Tecim said the Saudi side had previously bought from European suppliers. Under the arrangement basic vehicles are produced locally, while high-technology products such as refinery firefighting systems and high-reach ladder trucks remain in Turkey. The structure mirrors what Turkish defence primes have done with armoured vehicles and naval platforms: accept local assembly to win the contract, keep the high-value content at home.
Why European buyers should notice
Several European air forces are dispersing operations to secondary airfields and highway strips under agile combat employment concepts. Each dispersed site needs firefighting capacity, which increases demand for ARFF vehicles at a time when the Western supplier base is concentrated. A supplier that has built vehicles to ICAO and NFPA standards for four decades, and has produced in export markets under licence, is a plausible additional source.
Company snapshot
Founded in İzmir in 1974 with eight employees, Volkan built Turkey’s first airport firefighting vehicle and in 1992 its first modular fire truck. It took its first export order at INTERSCHUTZ in 2000. It now employs around 300 people at its Torbalı plant, exports to 40 countries and claims a 55 percent share of the Turkish fire-vehicle market.
FAQ
What is an ARFF vehicle?
An aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle, the specialised crash tender stationed at civil and military airfields.
Who is Volkan’s Saudi partner?
Saudi Sicli, a Saudi manufacturer of fire suppression equipment.
Company profile: Volkan İtfaiye
