What is Medef Defence? A Turkish ammunition maker profiled
Quick answer: Medef Defence (registered as Medef Savunma Sanayi ve Dış Ticaret A.Ş. and using the name MEDEF DEFENCE internationally) is an Ankara-based manufacturer of small and medium calibre ammunition. Its roots go back to AVCI, a hunting cartridge brand founded in Cyprus in 1981. Today the company makes centerfire pistol and rifle cartridges, cartridge primers, cases and bullets, and shotshells. It operates two foreign structures: MEDEF USA, set up in 2021, and MEDEF Europe, announced in 2025.
Company file: Medef Defence at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Registered name | Medef Savunma Sanayi ve Dış Ticaret A.Ş. |
| Brand origin | AVCI hunting cartridges, 1981, Mağusa (Famagusta), Cyprus |
| Incorporation | 2017 in the company’s own account; trade registry entry dated September 24, 2019 (Ankara) |
| Address | İvedik Organised Industrial Zone, 1122. Cadde No:20/89, Yenimahalle, Ankara |
| Product groups | Pistol cartridges, rifle cartridges, components, shotshells |
| Brands | Avcı, Venom, Venatum |
| Foreign structures | MEDEF USA LLC (2021, Savannah); MEDEF Europe (2025, warehouse in Italy) |
| Revenue / capacity | Not officially disclosed. |
Origins: from 1981 to the present
In the company’s corporate history, the story opens in 1981, when Salih Zeki Avcı, a hunter from Cyprus, began making hunting cartridges in Mağusa with his own means. The AVCI brand has been producing hunting and sporting cartridges for more than 40 years; its best-known line, the Selonez shotshell series, takes its name from a hunting ground at Dipkarpaz. Shooting tournaments named after the founder are held every year in his memory.
The company says it combined that accumulated experience with an engineering base in 2017 and founded Medef Savunma Sanayi ve Dış Ticaret A.Ş.; Ankara trade registry data show the joint-stock company registered on September 24, 2019. The firm is run today by a third-generation family member who carries the founder’s name, Salih Zeki Avcı, as chief executive.
What does it make?
Four product groups are listed on Medef Defence’s official website:
- Pistol cartridges: 9x19mm Parabellum, 9x19mm Luger and 9x18mm Makarov. Details are in the 9x19mm pistol ammunition file.
- Rifle cartridges: the Dectus family in 5.56x45mm and the Vipera family in 7.62x39mm and 7.62x51mm. Details are in the rifle ammunition file.
- Components: cartridge primers, brass cases and bullets. The company says every component of its products is made inside its own factory. Details are in the primer and case and bullet files.
- Shotshells: loads ranging from 24 grams to 40 grams, plus buckshot, slug and rubber options.
The website carries ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 marks together with NATO, C.I.P. and SAAMI logos; documentation showing the scope of those certificates is not public. Which public agencies the products have been delivered to has not been officially disclosed.
Production base and quality processes
According to its corporate texts, the production model rests on two legs: trained staff and machinery. Medef says it has installed at its own factory all the lines required for centerfire cartridge manufacturing, that its engineers follow international research and development work, and that every product passes through quality laboratory checks and test firing. The same texts list free zone operations (import-export, warehousing, logistics) among the services offered to customers, without naming the free zone involved. Capacity indicators such as plant area, number of lines and headcount are not officially disclosed.
Structures abroad
The company’s international footprint widened in three steps. MEDEF USA LLC was set up in the US state of Georgia in 2021; a loading facility near Savannah opened in March 2023, according to the local press. The MEDEF Europe structure announced in 2025 ships to European customers from a warehouse in Italy. The company also took sponsorship roles at the IWA 2025 and Enforce Tac trade fairs and had a stand at SAHA EXPO 2026 in Istanbul. The export picture is examined in more detail in the export file.
Where it sits in the sector
In Turkey’s small arms ammunition segment, the state side is represented by MKE, the state-owned Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation, while a limited number of private producers, Medef among them, operate alongside it. Turkish defense and aerospace exports reached 10.5 billion dollars in 2025, of which 4.7 billion dollars came from weapons and ammunition products. Medef’s share of that total has not been disclosed; the company’s position is discussed in the comparison of Turkish ammunition producers. For an index of the full range, see the product guide.
Frequently asked questions
Which city is Medef Defence based in?
Its contact address is in the İvedik Organised Industrial Zone in Ankara; the head office address in the trade registry appears in Söğütözü, Çankaya.
Is Medef Defence a state company?
No. Trade registry records show a privately held joint-stock company with a single shareholder; its origins lie in a family business.
Which calibres does Medef Defence produce?
Its website lists 9x19mm, 9x18mm Makarov, 5.56x45mm, 7.62x39mm and 7.62x51mm cartridges along with shotshells and components.
How is the AVCI brand related to Medef?
AVCI is the company’s hunting cartridge brand dating back to 1981; Medef Defence uses it today in the shotshell product group.
What is Medef Defence’s revenue?
Not officially disclosed.
Sources and verification note
- https://www.medefence.net/about-us/ — corporate history, the 2017 founding account, MEDEF USA (Accessed: August 12, 2026)
- https://www.medefence.net/stay-in-touch-2/ — İvedik OSB address and contact details (Accessed: August 12, 2026)
- https://www.find.com.tr/Company/medefsavunmasanayivedisticaretanonimsirketi — registry entry of September 24, 2019 (Accessed: August 12, 2026)
- http://web.archive.org/web/20170929182920/http://avci-cartridges.com/tr/avci-catridges-tarihce.html — the 1981 founding in Mağusa (Accessed: August 12, 2026)
- https://defensehere.com/tr/medef-europe-ile-avrupaya-daha-hizli-sevkiyat-gerceklestirilecek/ — MEDEF Europe and the warehouse in Italy (Accessed: August 12, 2026)
- https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/ekonomi/savunma-ve-havacilik-ihracatta-10-milyar-dolar-esigini-asti/3788818 — 2025 sector exports (Accessed: August 12, 2026)
- https://defenceturkey.com/news/2025-yili-turk-savunma-ve-havacilik-sanayii-genel-degerlendirmesi-ve-2026-hedefleri — 4.7 billion dollars in weapons and ammunition exports (Accessed: August 12, 2026)
The internal company information in this file (history, product list, corporate structures) rests largely on the company’s own publications; numerical data that could not be confirmed through an independent source is marked “Not officially disclosed.” No undisclosed figure has been estimated.
