Türkiye Seals $350m Arms Deal With Egypt for TOLGA Close-In Air Defence System

Türkiye and Egypt moved their post-2023 rapprochement into hard defense cooperation with a $350m agreement that pairs immediate capability transfer with local industrialization.

The deal, signed during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Cairo, commits Türkiye’s Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE) to export its TOLGA Short-Range Air Defence System and to establish ammunition production lines in Egypt, embedding Ankara into Cairo’s supply chain while advancing both countries’ regional security priorities. Türkiye, Egypt, defense industry, air defense, ammunition manufacturing

Supply Chain Meets Air Defense

Sources familiar with the agreement told Middle East Eye that the total value is $350m while in an official statement, Türkiye’s defense ministry said MKE will export the TOLGA system to Egypt, a package valued at $130m by those sources, while the remaining $220m will finance the construction of a 155mm long-range artillery ammunition factory alongside 7.62mm and 12.7mm production facilities.

The ministry added yesterday that MKE “signed a contract for the establishment of a 155 mm Long-Range Artillery Ammunition Factory and Small Arms Ammunition Production Facilities in Egypt” and that the company also exported the MKE TOLGA Close-In Air Defense System to Cairo, aligning the industrial build-out with the air defense delivery.

“False Starts to Live Fire”

TOLGA has been positioned by MKE as a layered counter-drone and short-range air defense solution combining command and control, radar, electro-optical sensors, electronic jamming, weapons of multiple calibers, and specially developed ammunition, enabling both soft-kill and hard-kill effects.

On Nov. 26, MKE announced it had completed the first live-fire test of TOLGA with 100% success across eight engagement scenarios, demonstrating drone detection, jamming, and hard-kill interception.

The company said the system is ready for mass production and can be integrated into fixed sites, vehicles, and naval platforms.

MKE also exported TOLGA to Qatar last month, underscoring a widening export footprint.

Founded in 1950 and long the primary supplier of ammunition and weapons to the Turkish Armed Forces, MKE was restructured as a corporation in 2021, modernizing infrastructure and launching export-oriented programs aimed at serving NATO allies and other partners.

Diplomacy Converts to Contracts

The signing coincided with Erdogan’s Cairo meetings with President Abdulfettah el-Sisi on Feb. 4, where the leaders concluded seven agreements and issued a joint declaration reaffirming their intent to deepen cooperation.

The defense pact reflects a broader thaw that began in 2023, when Ankara and Cairo appointed ambassadors after a decade of strained relations following Egypt’s 2013 military takeover.

Since then, the two governments have steadily aligned on regional files - from Somalia and Sudan to wider security questions - with momentum accelerated by Israel’s war on Gaza.

The MKE package operationalizes that alignment by pairing near-term air defense capability with long-term ammunition sovereignty, a model that spreads production risk, shortens logistics lines, and creates export optionality from Egypt into the wider region.

Industrialization as Leverage

For Cairo, the arrangement delivers immediate protection against aerial threats while building domestic capacity in 155mm artillery and small-arms ammunition.

For Ankara, it anchors Türkiye’s defense industry inside a key Arab market and converts diplomatic normalization into durable industrial ties.

The joint venture framework, ministry officials said, is designed to manage the new facilities and expand export potential from Egypt, reinforcing MKE’s transition since 2021 into a competitive, outward-facing supplier.