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Private company

Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation

Logo: Makine ve Kimya Endüstrisi Kurumu, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Turkish government owned defense company

The Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (Turkish: Makine ve Kimya Endüstrisi or MKE for short), established in 1950, is a reorganization of government-controlled group of factories in Turkey that supplied the Turkish Armed Forces with military products.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Mar 15, 1950Founded1
  • Industryweapons industry1
  • HeadquartersAnkara1
  • Websitewww.mkek.gov.tr
  • Legal formstate-owned enterprise1

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The Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (Turkish: Makine ve Kimya Endüstrisi or MKE for short), established in 1950, is a reorganization of government-controlled group of factories in Turkey that supplied the Turkish Armed Forces with military products.2

Corporate structure

Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation sits at the top of its group. 2 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation Ankara
    • Kırıkkale MKE Weapons Industry Museum Subsidiary · Kırıkkale Province, Turkey

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Its roots lie in the "Tophane-i Amire" ("Royal Arsenal") built in the latter part of the 15th Century to supply the Ottoman Empire's artillery corps with cannon, powder, and shot. This was reorganized in 1832 as the "Tophane Müşavirliği" ("Arsenal of Ordnance and Artillery Marshalship") and was later formed in a department of "Harbiye Nezareti" (Ministry of War) in 1908. After World War I and the following Turkish War of Independence, it was reorganized as the "General Directorate of Military Factories" in 1923. Today, the MKE is made up of 12 facilities that employ 7,430 personnel. The first produced rifle was Mauser Model M1938 (along with 'Enfauser' Lee–Enfield/Mauser hybrids) and the first pistol was Walther PP, both known as 'Kırıkkale'.

From Wikipedia’s article on Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

  • assault rifle

Listed on Wikidata.1

Products

The corporation mainly produces equipment for the Turkish Armed Forces, such as the ammunition for small arms and heavy weapons, artillery systems, aerial bombs, mines, explosives, and rockets. MKEK also manufactures civil-purpose products such as steel, brass, and electrical parts and equipment. Its large range of defense industry products are not only demanded in Turkey, but are exported to more than 40 countries worldwide.

In 2011, the company has sold military products to 29 countries worldwide. MKE decided to increase its production capacity by investing $818 million in Ankara and Kırıkkale in 2025. The first smoothbore gun for Altay main battle tank was introduced in 2011.

Production groups:

Ammunition Group

Read the full text

Rocket Group

Weapons Group

Explosives, Propellants, and Pyrotechnic Products Group

Company and factories: there are 11 factories and 1 company affiliated with MKE located in three major manufacturing hubs:

Kırıkkale

Ammunition Factory

Brass Factory

Heavy Weapons Factory And Steel Foundry

Explosives Factory

Small-Arms Weapons Factory (Kırıkkale Arsenal Co.)

Ankara

Explosive & Propellant Factory

Machinery and Gas-Mask Factory MAKSAM

Pyrotechnics Factory

Scrap Recycling Plant

Small-Arms Ammunition Factory

Çankırı

Medium-Caliber Weapons Factory

İzmit

Scrap Recycling Plant

MKE Maksam Machine and Mask Factory

MKE Maksam (Turkish: Maksam Makine Ve Maske Fabrikası Müdürlüğü or MAKSAM for short) was founded in 1920. The company's line of business includes the manufacturing of surgical appliances and supplies also CBRN masks and products, various masks are produced for the army and civilians. During COVID-19 pandemic Maksam produced millions of Surgical Mask, FFP3 Type Mask, Protective Coverall, Goggles Type A-B, Face Protection Visor Type C, Protective Gloves, Panoramic Mask Set, P13 Plastic Strainer and MKE Surgical Mask Production Machines.

SAHRA Mechanical Respirator

Apart from masks and protective equipment, SAHRA Mechanical Respirator was produced by making use of local and national facilities in order to provide basic respiratory support to COVID-19 patients. SAHRA is ready for mass production by the end of May 2020 and has a weekly production capacity of 500 pieces.

Aircraft

MKEK-1 Gözcü (Turkish - "Observer")

MKEK-2 6 planes were produced

MKEK-3

MKEK-4 Uğur (Turkish: "Luck") 57 planes were produced, three of which were donated to the Royal Jordanian Air Force.

MKEK-5 Twin-engine aircraft developed by in Turkey in 1945 as an air ambulance.

MKEK-6

MKEK-7

THK-16

Vehicles

T-155 Fırtına 155 mm 52 caliber tracked self-propelled howitzer

T-155 Yavuz 155 mm 52 caliber wheeled self-propelled howitzer

Pirana USV, single-use unmanned surface vehicle (USV) used as a loitering munition

Engineering and Ammunition Resupply Vehicles

MKEK POYRAZ - Ammunition resupply vehicle

MKE TAMGEÇ Mine-clearing line charge system.

MKE TAMKAR Mine-clearing line charge system

From Wikipedia’s article on Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Owners

  • Turkey

Subsidiaries

  • Kırıkkale MKE Weapons Industry Museum

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. Mar 15, 1950Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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