HAVELSAN’s BULUT UAV and BARKAN UGV took part in Ateş Serbest-2026, carrying out aerial reconnaissance and ground fire-support tasks in Türkiye.
BARKAN unmanned ground vehicle in a manufacturer product image. Image: HAVELSAN.
The Ateş Serbest-2026 exercise at the General Nahit Şenoğul firing and training area in Polatlı, Ankara, included HAVELSAN’s BULUT unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and BARKAN unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). The activity is intended to showcase the firepower of weapons in the Turkish Armed Forces’ inventory and their effects on target, while improving coordination of fire support between services.
Since Ateş Serbest-2026 began on 1 September, elements from the Land Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force and General Staff Special Forces Command have participated. Live firing and static displays presented weapons and systems covering different mission areas.
BULUT is HAVELSAN’s fixed-wing, sub-cloud autonomous UAV, produced for modern military units and security forces. At the exercise, BULUT performed reconnaissance, target-marking and surveillance missions, drawing on its runway-independent vertical take-off and landing capability.
HAVELSAN’s UAV range also includes BAHA, a separate vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV that the company exhibited at ADEX 2026 in Baku from 30 September to 2 October.
During the ground scenarios, BARKAN engaged designated targets using its integrated 12.7 mm remote-controlled weapon station (RCWS). The exercise tested UGVs in reconnaissance and surveillance, logistics-line protection and three-dimensional mapping, as well as fire support.
According to HAVELSAN, BARKAN offers units direct fire support and can remain in continuous operation for up to eight hours over difficult terrain. The vehicle can also be configured for bomb disposal using a robotic arm, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threat detection, cargo carriage, day and night reconnaissance, mapping and rescue missions.
Designed to meet Turkish Land Forces and law-enforcement requirements, BARKAN made its public debut at the end of February 2021. HAVELSAN later expanded the family with BARKAN II, an advanced iteration of BARKAN, within Türkiye’s broader effort to develop autonomous and robotic land systems.
Polatlı also hosted the modular PALEM UGV, equipped with ASELSAN’s SARP DUAL RCWS and ROKETSAN’s KARAOK turret. One scenario saw PALEM move a casualty to safety after a tank had reached the casualty and laid a smokescreen.
Turkish defence industry representatives attended the exercise, including executives from ASELSAN, Baykar, HAVELSAN, ROKETSAN and TÜBİTAK SAGE, who followed the activity on site. ROKETSAN presented KARAOK, its third-generation, fire-and-forget, short-range guided anti-tank weapon, at the event.
The artillery demonstrations included ASFAT’s 155 mm PANTER howitzer, with a five-person crew engaging targets at ranges of up to 40 km. MKE participated with the TOLGA short-range air defence system and the 155 mm FIRTINA and 105 mm BORAN howitzers.
The Distinguished Observer Day for Ateş Serbest-2026 is scheduled for 15 October, ahead of the exercise’s planned conclusion on 22 October.
HAVELSAN’s participation comes after it displayed a self-funded underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV), capable of operating at depths of up to 300 m, at NUSRET 2026 on 7 October. Its ADEX 2026 display also included the SANCAR armed unmanned surface vehicle, which has completed acceptance and live-fire trials.
