ISTANBUL — It was all about one-way attack drones today at the SAHA defense show in Turkey, with at least five new homegrown systems making their exhibition debut.
In a crowded ceremony on its stand, Turkish electronics giant Aselsan lifted the curtain on two naval systems: the TUFAN unmanned surface vessel (USV) and KILIC autonomous underwater strike system.
The TUFAN, mounted with antenna and an electro optics pod, is mainly a one-way attack vessel that Aselsan says can also perform intelligence, surveillancer and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The KILIC, an unmanned underwater vessel or UUV, is equipped with communication and navigation systems allowing it to operate alone or as part of a swarm UUVs.
“Securing beyond the boundaries of naval domain requires a new level of autonomy, integration and operational flexibility,” Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol said in a statement today. “As maritime security gains increasing importance in today’s operational environment, we are leveraging our geographical advantages to enhance our capabilities at sea and introducing our new generation unmanned naval systems, designed to address the evolving requirements of modern maritime operations.”
Elsewhere at the show Turkey’s UAV giant Baykar unveiled three aerial one-way attack platforms.
The Sivirsnek, or Mosquito in English, is the smallest of the three, but hardly the size of a mosquito with a 3.2 meter (10-foot) wingspan. It’s is a tube-launched UAV that the company says can perform reconnaissance and strike missions simultaneously. Mizrak (Spear), meanwhile, has a range beyond line of site for more than 1,000 km (620 miles) and can carry 40 kg (approximately 90 pounds) of payload. Both systems can be equipped with AI-assisted autonomy.
The largest new system, the K2 Kamikaze one-way attack UAV, was shown off as a full-sized model in gleaming gray. Baykar says it has a payload capacity up to 200kg. (The company previously revealed trials with the system in March.)
Serhat Süha Çubukçuoğlu, an expert at TRENDS Research & Advisory in Abu Dhabi, told Breaking Defense that Turkey’s increased highlight on one-way attack uavs and unmanned naval platforms is due to their cost-effective nature.
“It provides Turkey with the ability to suppress or destroy enemy air defenses or surface naval units at a much cheaper cost,” he said, adding that another reason is its flexibility and ease of deployment.
“Kamikaze drones also overwhelm enemy defenses, and saturate them. So that’s an ideal way to open up the way for more strategic, heavier, more capable and longer range manned units to enter and establish air superiority in the area,” he concluded.
