The first phase of the competition organized by the Defence Industry Presidency within the scope of the Swarm UAV Technology Development and Demonstration Project with the participation of micro-scale companies and SMEs has been completed. Defence Industry President Prof. İsmail Demir stated the following in his statement on the subject:

“The Turkish defence industry has achieved significant success in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles in recent years. Today, national and domestic UAVs used by our security forces have become one of the leading systems of their class in the world. As the Turkish defence industry, we continue our efforts to continuously improve ourselves in terms of technology and acquire new technologies in this field. The use of unmanned systems with the swarm concept significantly increases the level of protection of friendly elements, firepower, precise destruction of targets, intelligence, observation and reconnaissance capabilities. While our tactical UAVs perform important tasks in terms of serving as a herd, we initiated the Swarm UAV Technology Development and Demonstration Project in order for our micro-scale companies and SMEs to gain capability in this field and to strengthen the ecosystem in herd UAV technology. With the Herd UAV Technology Development and Demonstration Project, we aim to develop algorithms and software for the use of unmanned platforms in herd concept by micro-companies and SMEs. We organized a competition consisting of four phases within the scope of the project. We carried out the first phase of the first phase in Kalecik UAV Test Center. As we see the excitement and determination of our companies, our hope and belief increase. I believe that our companies participating in this competition will make a significant contribution to the defence of our country with the UAVs they will develop at a more advanced level. “

26 companies applied for the first stage

Fixed Wing Swarm UAV Open Environment Target Detection and Destruction Mission-Pre-Programmed Arm Flight Comprehensive Phase-1 Stage-1 competition, 26 companies applied. Support was provided to companies that met the required qualifications by covering technology development costs. Many companies participated in the flight tests held at the Kalecik UAV Test Center and demonstrated their capabilities.

Companies that have successfully completed the Phase-1 Phase-1 flight tests will continue their development and production activities within the scope of the project with Phase-2 Surveillance and Task Transfer. The third and fourth phases of Phase-1 will consist of “Discovery at Close Range, Target Identification and Destruction” and “Discovery at Long Distance by Leaving the Carrier Platform, Target Detection and Destruction”.

The contest will end after the following phases are completed:

Phase-2: Rotary Wing Swarm UAV Indoor Navigation Mission

Phase-3: Elimination of Drone Threats with Fixed / Rotary Wing Swarm UAV

Phase-4: Fixed / Rotary Wing UAV and UAV Herd Mission in Open and Closed Environment