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Havelsan's SANCAR armed unmanned surface vehicle (USV) officially entered the Turkish Navy's inventory at a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Havelsan Technology Campus, marking a milestone in Ankara's expanding unmanned naval capabilities.
"With the SANCAR USV entering our inventory, we are strengthening our unmanned capabilities at sea, increasing our security, effectiveness and surveillance capacity," Erdogan said at the ceremony.
The SANCAR USV is designed to autonomously perform comprehensive missions including port and base protection, search and rescue, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, patrol, surface warfare and mine countermeasures.
The platform measures 12.7 meters in length and 3.3 meters in width, with a displacement of 9 tonnes. Powered by twin diesel engines and twin water jets, it can reach speeds exceeding 40 knots and offers a range of 400 nautical miles (740 kilometers) at 10 knots, operating in Sea State 4 conditions.
For anti-surface warfare missions, SANCAR is equipped with Roketsan's KMC missile launcher, carrying UMTAS anti-tank guided missiles and Cirit laser-guided missiles, along with Aselsan's SMASH 200/12.7mm remote-controlled weapon station.
The USV also has a provision to deploy unmanned underwater vehicles and can be used in mine countermeasure missions with an optional aft-mounted deployment and recovery system.
Developed by Havelsan in cooperation with Yonca Shipyard, SANCAR is integrated with Havelsan's ADVENT combat management system, which is used by various Turkish Navy ships, including TCG Anadolu LHD, I-class frigates and Hisar-class offshore patrol vessels.
The platform can be controlled from a mobile ground control station and is compliant with NATO standards, enabling network-centric operations and swarm capabilities.
The ceremony also hosted the opening of Havelsan's new combat management systems facility building and a technology center for the KAAN fighter jet.
Additionally, the foundation was laid for a new Simulator Production and Integration Centre.
Havelsan CEO Mehmet Akif Nacar said the new facilities aim to increase the company's capacity by 40% and create new employment areas.
"ADVENT is not merely software, it is the digital manifestation of our national intellect at sea," Nacar said, noting that the system has been exported to four continents.
Nacar highlighted the role of ADVENT in transforming TCG Anadolu into an unmanned combat aerial vehicle ship concept, saying the "superior performance demonstrated by Bayraktar TB3 integrated with ADVENT was shown to the entire world at the latest NATO exercise."
He said ADVENT is being integrated into multiple national platforms, including MILGEM corvettes, national assault boats, offshore patrol vessels, mine hunting vessels, the TF-2000 Air Defense Destroyer, TCG Derya, and the national submarine and national aircraft carrier projects.
Nacar said Havelsan has doubled both its domestic sales and exports over the past three years, reaching a $2 billion business volume. Exports now account for one-third of the company's revenues.
"We aim to carry our technologies, used in Turkiye as well as in NATO and 28 countries, to wider geographies and to strengthen our local companies and representatives in eight countries with new regions," Nacar said.
He said Havelsan is preparing "the operational environment of the future" with network-enabled warfare systems, war games and exercise infrastructure, training and evaluation centers, and an AI-integrated version of ADVENT called ADVENT AI.
The company's unmanned systems portfolio includes the BAHA, BULUT, POYRAZ, BARKAN and SANCAR platforms across land, air and sea domains.
Nacar also noted that Havelsan has developed simulators for national platforms, including the KAAN, ATAK, Hurjet, Hurkus, Gokbey, ANKA, Altay and T70, as well as AI-supported embedded training simulators.
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National Defense Minister Yasar Guler said Türkiye's defense industry has reached a globally recognized level through simultaneous projects across land, air and sea platforms.
"Today, our defense industry has reached a level that draws attention on a global scale through successful projects carried out simultaneously across land, air and sea platforms, positioning our country as a key player in defense technologies," Guler stated.
He said the SANCAR USV represents a "new and powerful link" in Ankara's naval capabilities chain, alongside the network-enabled data-integrated combat management system developed jointly by the Naval Research Center Command and Havelsan.
"We will resolutely continue to develop more advanced technologies, produce stronger platforms and increase our effectiveness at sea," Guler concluded.
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