President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday opened new facilities of Türkiye’s defense software giant Havelsan and laid the groundwork for new ones, adding to the momentum to further build the capacity of one of the most critical industries.
The ceremony in Ankara also saw the commissioning of Havelsan’s armed unmanned surface vessel (AUSV), named Sancar, equipped with engagement capability, mine detection systems and autonomous mission functions.
Erdoğan stressed that the breakthroughs achieved in unmanned technologies over the last 23 years have helped Türkiye reach a level today that “leaves the whole world in awe.”
“With the Sancar AUSV, we are strengthening our unmanned capabilities in the seas, enhancing our security, efficiency and surveillance capacity,” he said.
The platform is fully integrated with the ADVENT Combat Management System, also developed by Havelsan, making it the first and only Turkish AUSV capable of operating in complete coordination with the network-centric warfare system.
Years of investment have helped Türkiye evolve from a country heavily reliant on foreign defense systems to one where domestically developed platforms meet almost all of its needs.
For much of the past two decades, Ankara has expressed frustration over its Western allies’ failure to provide adequate defense systems against missile threats despite Türkiye being a NATO member.
The transformation since the early 2000s has driven the development of a broad range of homegrown air, land and naval platforms, reducing foreign dependency from around 80% to below 20% today.
The capabilities of its defense platforms, led by its combat drones, helped it seal billions of dollars’ worth of deals in recent years.
More than 3,500 firms operate in the Turkish defense industry, boasting a workforce of about 100,000.
Europe’s top simulation tech facility
On Tuesday, Erdoğan laid the foundation for the Simulator Production and Integration Facility and inaugurated the Kaan Technology Facility along with the Naval Combat Management Systems Center.
The first facility will help Türkiye expand training, readiness and sustainable operational infrastructure, while making its human resources more qualified, said the president.
“This complex, once completed, will be Europe’s largest production and integration facility in simulation technologies,” Erdoğan said.
With the second and third facilities, the president said Türkiye is further strengthening the “critical technological backbone of our air and naval platforms.”
Erdoğan said all these will carry Türkiye’s defense power, capacity and deterrence in both the air and the “Blue Homeland” to the next level.
The new investments at Havelsan “are the continuation of strategic moves that will increase the holistic capacity and influence of our defense ecosystem,” he stressed.
Türkiye, Erdoğan said, has reached a level where it runs detection, identification and attack processes with national technology.
The president emphasized that they see digital sovereignty as an “integral part of our national security.”
“If a country’s software is not national, one cannot speak of a secure future for that country,” said Erdoğan. “Full independence cannot be considered separately from technological independence.”
Türkiye is at the stage at which it designs its own technology, produces its own software and exports its products to the entire world, Erdoğan stressed.
Turkish defense industry’s exports rose about 48% year-over-year in 2025 to more than $10 billion.
The strongest year to date reaffirmed rising global demand for Turkish-made military systems and comes as Türkiye ramps up defense industry production to further cut dependence on foreign providers.
DAILYSABAH
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