BİTES

Established in 2005, BİTES Savunma Havacılık ve Uzay Teknolojileri is a technology-oriented company operating in the Turkish defense and aerospace sector. The company was founded by Uğur Coşkun, who started his first venture in 2001 while studying Mathematics Engineering at Istanbul Technical University. His early work focused on interactive television, gaming, and web technologies before shifting to R&D-based technologies for the defense industry in 2005.

BİTES specializes in developing software-intensive systems for mission-critical applications. Its core competencies lie in augmented reality, artificial intelligence, modeling and simulation technologies, and command & control software. The company serves clients within the defense and aerospace industries, including the Turkish Armed Forces and major international contractors like Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky, Airbus, and Hensholdt. BİTES generates revenue by providing these high-technology products and solutions, which have been recognized internationally. The firm was named one of the world's top 100 Simulation Technologies companies by Military Training Technology magazine in both 2014 and 2017.

A significant milestone in the company's history occurred in 2019 when ASELSAN, a leading Turkish defense electronics company, acquired a 51% stake in BİTES. This partnership aimed to enhance capabilities in artificial intelligence and augmented reality. Subsequently, in October 2023, ASELSAN acquired the remaining 49% of shares, making BİTES a wholly-owned subsidiary. This strategic move was intended to increase management efficiency and intensify the focus on developing advanced military and civil software technologies. Before his departure in November 2023, founder Uğur Coşkun led the company's growth, which included a significant increase in personnel following the initial ASELSAN partnership. The company's operations are based at the METU Technopolis Informatics Innovation Center in Ankara.

Keywords: defense technology, aerospace software, military simulation, augmented reality maintenance, artificial intelligence, command and control systems, software-intensive systems, avionic systems, training technologies, image processing, signal processing, autonomous systems, deep learning, mission-critical software, ASELSAN subsidiary, Turkish defense industry, virtual maintenance trainers, mission planning software, embedded software, modeling and simulation