Turkey Bolsters Defense with SANCAR USV and New HAVELSAN Facilities
Ankara, Turkey – In a significant boost to its indigenous defense capabilities, Turkey officially commissioned the SANCAR Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) and inaugurated several new HAVELSAN facilities during a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The event, held at the HAVELSAN Technology Campus, also saw the groundbreaking for a Simulator Production and Integration Facility and the opening of the HAVELSAN KAAN Technology Center and an additional building for the Naval Combat Management System Center.
President Erdoğan Leads Commissioning and Inauguration Ceremony
The ceremony was graced by the presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, along with Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak, President of Defense Industries Haluk Görgün, and HAVELSAN General Manager Mehmet Akif Nacar. The event underscores Turkey’s commitment to strengthening its domestic defense industry and reducing foreign dependency.
SANCAR USV: A New Era in Naval Defense
Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler expressed his pride in the commissioning of the SANCAR USV, stating, "I would especially like to express our pride in seeing our successes in unmanned systems, which started with aerial vehicles, now extending to the seas." He highlighted that the SANCAR USV, developed with the ADVENT Combat Management System architecture, is equipped with superior autonomous capabilities and will serve the Turkish Naval Forces. This indigenous and national product, developed by HAVELSAN and YONCA TEKNİK, will contribute significantly to reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence gathering, surface warfare, and critical facility protection.
The SANCAR USV’s advanced sensor systems, integrated weapon systems, and modular architecture enable it to perform multi-faceted missions effectively, enhancing Turkey’s deterrence in the "Blue Homeland." Its full compatibility with the network-centric warfare concept is expected to have a force multiplier effect for the Naval Forces Command.
HAVELSAN’s Expanding Production and R&D Capabilities
President of Defense Industries Haluk Görgün emphasized that these inaugurations are significant milestones reflecting the level of Turkish engineering and future ambitions. "The commissioning of our SANCAR USV, which will strengthen our deterrence in the Blue Homeland, the groundbreaking of the Simulator Integration and Production Facility infrastructure, which will deepen the production capability of our aviation and space ecosystem, and the opening of the KAAN Technology Facility and the Naval Combat Management System Center, are important milestones that bring together the level of our indigenous and national engineering and our ambition for the coming period," Görgün stated.
The newly opened facilities are set to significantly enhance HAVELSAN’s engineering, production, and development capacities:
- HAVELSAN KAAN Technology Center: Located within the TUSAŞ Campus, this center will focus on system engineering, software development, testing and verification, platform cybersecurity, and simulation and training solutions for the KAAN project. It will provide a strategic infrastructure for R&D activities in advanced software, artificial intelligence, and integrated defense solutions.
- Naval Combat Management System Center Additional Building: Situated at the Istanbul Pendik Shipyard Command, this expanded center will conduct R&D and product development activities in advanced technology areas such as big data analytics, image and video processing, data fusion, and network modeling. It aims to accelerate activities by providing a holistic infrastructure for the design, integration, and verification processes of combat management systems for surface and underwater platforms, particularly the ADVENT Network-Enabled Data Integrated Combat Management System.
- Simulator Production and Integration Facility (Groundbreaking): This facility, to be built in the HAB Space and Aviation Specialized Organized Industrial Zone in Ankara Kahramankazan, is projected to be Europe’s largest simulation technology production and integration base. It will have the capacity to produce and integrate over 30 simulators simultaneously, including full flight simulators for platforms like GÖKBEY, HÜRJET, and ALTAY. The facility, spanning 60,000 square meters and employing approximately 600 personnel, is designed as a multi-purpose and high-capacity technology center for the mass production of air, land, and sea robotic and autonomous systems.
ADVENT: The Digital Manifestation of Naval Intelligence
HAVELSAN General Manager Mehmet Akif Nacar highlighted the success of the ADVENT Network-Enabled Data Integrated Combat Management System, stating, "ADVENT is not just a software; it is the digital manifestation of our national intelligence in the seas." He noted that ADVENT has been integrated into Turkish ships and is being exported to four continents. Its capabilities were crucial in transforming TCG Anadolu into a SİHA (Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) ship concept, and the superior performance of the Bayraktar TB3, integrated with ADVENT, was demonstrated to the world in the latest NATO exercise.
Many national platforms, from MİLGEM warships to national fast attack craft, offshore patrol vessels, mine hunters, the TF-2000 air defense destroyer, and TCG Anadolu, are being equipped with ADVENT’s operational intelligence. Nacar affirmed HAVELSAN’s commitment to continuing its work on national submarine and aircraft carrier projects with new and indigenous subsystems, building on its success in command and control and data distribution systems for ships and submarines.
President Erdoğan also inspected the Simulator Integration Hangar at the HAVELSAN Technology Campus, where he received information from Mehmet Akif Nacar about simulators for national platforms like GÖKBEY, HÜRJET, and ALTAY, as well as civilian full flight simulators.
These developments signify a major step forward for Turkey’s defense industry, enhancing its capabilities in unmanned systems, simulation technologies, and naval combat management systems, and further solidifying its position as a key player in global defense technology.
