Turkey’s unveiling of 47 domestically built Steel Dome vehicles last week marked a major step toward the integration of its air defense system, but experts caution that much work remains before the system can protect the country from the full spectrum of aerial threats.

In a ceremony on Aug. 27, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced the delivery from production of 47 indigenously built air defense vehicles that cost $460 million, in the first major operational deployment for the system. The delivery marked the operational debut of Turkey’s multilayered Steel Dome, which combines short-, medium- and long-range missiles with advanced radars, sensors, electronic warfare systems and an AI-backed command center. 

The units included the Siper long-range, high-altitude air defense missiles as well as the lower- and medium-range Hisar systems and a host of sensors and electronic warfare equipment. Erdogan also announced the construction of a new facility in Ankara for Aselsan, Turkey’s military electronics giant and the main contractor on the Steel Dome project, which is slated to cost $1.5 billion.

Analysts believe that though the Siper long-range system and lower-tier Hisar units demonstrate Turkey’s industrial capabilities, challenges remain in scaling production, integrating multiple radar models, linking all units into a single network and developing exportable versions for international markets.