Who is the Owner of ROKETSAN? Partnership Structure and Share Distribution

The owner of ROKETSAN is the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV), which holds 55% of the shares. The remaining shares are distributed among ASELSAN (15%), MKE (15%), VakıfBank (10%), and other partners (5%). ROKETSAN is a joint-stock company under the control of a public foundation and is not traded on the stock exchange; it is not publicly listed.

55%

TSKGV share

15%

ASELSAN

15%

MKE

Stock exchange trading

ROKETSAN — Ownership Information
Full title	ROKETSAN Rocket Industry and Trade Inc.
Company type	Joint-stock company (Inc.)
Main partner	Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV) — %55
Establishment	June 14, 1988, Ankara
Headquarters	Ankara (Elmadağ; Lalahan, Kırıkkale)
General Manager	Murat İkinci
Stock status	Not publicly traded — does not trade on BIST
Employees	~5,000 (~2,000 in R&D)

Who owns ROKETSAN?

The largest partner and de facto owner of ROKETSAN is the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV). The foundation holds 55% of the company’s shares and is in a decisive position regarding the management of the company due to this majority stake. Therefore, ROKETSAN is officially defined as a TSKGV entity.

The full title of the company is ROKETSAN Rocket Industry and Trade Joint Stock Company. Although it is a joint-stock company, its shares are not traded on the stock market; thus, ROKETSAN is a state-linked structure with capital shared among certain public institutions and a public foundation. It is not possible for ordinary investors to purchase ROKETSAN shares from the open market.

Understanding ROKETSAN’s ownership structure is key to understanding the company’s identity. Who owns a missile manufacturer determines how decisions are made, where its revenue is directed, and which priorities it acts upon. In the case of ROKETSAN, this answer is not found in a single name but is gathered in a joint structure formed by several public-origin institutions. Having the majority share in a foundation allows the company to largely reinvest its profits back into the defense industry instead of distributing them to external shareholders.

ROKETSAN was established on June 14, 1988, by a decision of the Defense Industry Executive Committee in Ankara. Since its establishment, the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV) has been at the center of its partnership structure; the company has been shaped by public will to develop Turkey’s national capabilities in the field of rockets and missiles.

In short, the brief answer to the question “Who owns ROKETSAN?” is: primarily a public foundation established to strengthen Turkey’s defense industry, namely TSKGV. This ownership model aims to keep the precision rocket and missile technologies produced by the company under national control and to ensure that strategic decisions are made with a priority for national security beyond commercial concerns.

ROKETSAN A.Ş. is an establishment of the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV); the majority of the shares belong to this foundation.

ROKETSAN’s Partnership Structure

ROKETSAN’s capital is not held by a single entity; shares are distributed between a public foundation and Turkey’s leading defense and financial institutions. In addition to the main partner TSKGV, two major defense industry companies, ASELSAN and MKE (Machinery and Chemical Industry), along with the public bank VakıfBank, are among the partners.

What is striking about this structure is that ASELSAN and MKE, which are among ROKETSAN’s partners, are also the other flagship companies of the Turkish defense industry. Thus, ROKETSAN is part of an intertwined ecosystem with its own partners rather than competing firms. This cross-partnership is a typical example of how companies in Turkey’s defense industry are organized as a mutually supportive network.

Looking at this distribution, it is evident that a large portion of the shares is concentrated on the public side: when TSKGV’s 55% majority share is combined with ASELSAN’s 15%, MKE’s 15%, and VakıfBank’s 10%, the total share of public-origin partners exceeds 95%. The 5% portion indicated as “Other” remains a relatively small slice. This picture clearly shows that ROKETSAN’s ownership is concentrated more in public and public-related institutions than in private capital.

The table below shows the current share distribution of ROKETSAN:

ROKETSAN partnership (share) structure

Partner	Share
Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV)	%55
ASELSAN	%15
MKE (Machinery and Chemical Industry)	%15
VakıfBank	%10
Others	%5

ROKETSAN's Elmadağ (Ankara) campus is the company's main production and testing facility. — ROKETSAN’s Elmadağ (Ankara) campus is the company’s main production and testing facility.

What is TSKGV?

The Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV) is a public foundation established to strengthen the defense capabilities of the Turkish Armed Forces and to contribute to the development of the national defense industry. The foundation does not directly produce weapons; instead, it operates like an umbrella organization that holds significant shares in Turkey’s largest defense industry companies.

In addition to ROKETSAN, TSKGV is also a partner of many strategic defense companies such as ASELSAN, HAVELSAN, and ASPİLSAN. Through this structure, the profits obtained from the defense industry are redirected to the development of companies and technologies in this field. In short, TSKGV is the fundamental institution that represents public will in Turkey’s defense industry and holds the ownership of these companies together.

The foundation’s purpose is not to distribute profits, but to support the development of defense technologies needed by the Turkish Armed Forces domestically. Therefore, TSKGV’s 55% stake in ROKETSAN is a form of ownership that, unlike a regular investment partnership, considers the company’s strategic orientation and national security priorities. The fact that the missile and rocket systems produced by ROKETSAN are largely shaped according to the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces and allied countries in the export market is a direct result of this ownership structure.

The majority of ROKETSAN’s shares being held by a public foundation makes the company more of a state-linked strategic organization than a private company in the classical sense. This situation aims to keep the production of sensitive technologies like rockets and missiles under national control.

The TSKGV model offers a unique third way compared to many countries where the defense industry is either directly state-owned or entirely run by private companies: a non-profit foundation takes ownership of strategic companies and finances their long-term R&D and capacity investments with the income generated. The intense research and development activities and new facility investments that ROKETSAN has sustained for decades have been made possible in part by the predictability provided by this stable ownership structure.

Is ROKETSAN a state company, does it trade on the stock exchange?

ROKETSAN is not a public economic enterprise or a state agency affiliated with a ministry; it is legally a joint-stock company. However, since the majority of its shares are held by a public foundation (TSKGV) and other public institutions, it is practically considered a state-linked company. Public will is decisive in management and strategic decisions.

One of the most frequently asked questions is whether ROKETSAN shares can be purchased. The answer is clear: ROKETSAN does not trade on Borsa Istanbul (BIST) and is not publicly traded. The company does not have shares that are publicly offered and freely traded. Therefore, it is not possible for individual investors to directly become partners in ROKETSAN.

The fact that ASELSAN, which is among its partners, is traded on Borsa Istanbul sometimes causes confusion; however, this does not mean that ROKETSAN itself is publicly traded. ROKETSAN’s financial size is primarily shared with the public through annual revenue announcements and international rankings like Defense News Top 100; the company does not publish quarterly market reports like publicly traded firms. There may be points regarding exact capital and share details that are not officially disclosed.

In summary, ROKETSAN is a strategic defense company that is state-linked, owned by a public foundation and shared among public institutions, and is not publicly traded. The company’s financial strength is steadily growing; according to the general manager’s statements, the 2025 revenue is expected to exceed 2 billion dollars, and the total business volume has reached approximately 10 billion dollars with new contracts. However, this growth does not mean that the shares will be publicly offered; ROKETSAN maintains its public-oriented ownership structure established at its founding.

ACCURACY NOTE

The partnership ratios of ROKETSAN are based on official and publicly available sources. Since the company is not publicly traded, detailed and audited quarterly share/capital data is not publicly available; details that are not officially disclosed are indicated in this manner.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns ROKETSAN?

The majority share of ROKETSAN (55%) belongs to the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV). ROKETSAN is officially a TSKGV entity. The remaining shares are distributed among ASELSAN (15%), MKE (15%), VakıfBank (10%), and other partners (5%).

Is ROKETSAN a government entity?

ROKETSAN is not a direct government agency but a joint-stock company. However, since the majority of its shares are held by a public foundation (TSKGV) and other public institutions, it is considered a state-linked company under public control.

Is ROKETSAN listed on the stock exchange, can shares be purchased?

No. ROKETSAN is not traded on Borsa İstanbul (BIST) and is not publicly listed. Since it does not have freely tradable shares, individual investors cannot purchase ROKETSAN shares.

What is TSKGV?

The Turkish Armed Forces Foundation is a public foundation established to support the strength of the Turkish Armed Forces and the national defense industry. ROKETSAN holds shares in many strategic defense companies such as ASELSAN, HAVELSAN, and ASPİLSAN.

ASELSAN owns 15% of ROKETSAN shares. ASELSAN is also a TSKGV entity like ROKETSAN; the two companies are interconnected through a shared ownership structure.

When was ROKETSAN founded?

ROKETSAN was established on June 14, 1988, in Ankara, by the decision of the Defense Industry Executive Committee. The aim was to create Turkey’s leading national organization for designing and producing rockets and missiles.