From drones to underwater warfare: Inside SAHA 2026; Türkiye’s $8B defense surge

Iftikhar Gilani

ISTANBUL, Türkiye (MNTV) — Held between May 5 and 9, SAHA 2026 became one of the largest defense and aerospace exhibitions ever organized in Türkiye.

Turkish defense and aerospace companies signed approximately 182 agreements and memorandums of understanding during the exhibition, generating a record business volume approaching $8 billion.

Turkish officials say that around $6 billion of that total involved export-oriented deals.

The exhibition also featured 164 formal signing ceremonies, more than 200 newly unveiled technologies and systems, and 203 new product launches across air, land, naval, cyber, and autonomous warfare sectors.

For a country that only a few decades ago depended heavily on imported defense systems, the transformation has been remarkable.

More than 1,700 companies from over 120 countries participated in the event, while hundreds of military delegations and procurement officials attended meetings spread across nearly 400,000 square meters of indoor and outdoor exhibition space.

Experts say for Türkiye, the exhibition represented the clearest demonstration yet of Ankara’s ambition to transform itself into one of the world’s major military technology powers.

The first signs of what SAHA 2026 represented were visible long before entering the exhibition halls.

Traffic around the Istanbul Expo Center slowed to a crawl as military convoys, diplomatic vehicles, and buses carrying foreign delegations moved toward the sprawling venue.

Security checkpoints stretched across multiple entrances. Inside, giant banners carrying the names of Türkiye’s largest defense companies hung from ceilings above crowded corridors filled with military officers, engineers, diplomats, arms buyers, and technology executives speaking in Turkish, Arabic, English, French, and Russian.

Across the halls, visitors moved from drone displays to missile systems, from autonomous submarines to electronic warfare platforms, from artificial intelligence-assisted surveillance systems to laser weapons designed to disable airborne threats without firing a conventional projectile.

At one stand, engineers demonstrated underwater kamikaze systems designed to attack enemy vessels silently beneath the sea. At another, company officials explained how artificial intelligence could coordinate autonomous drone swarms capable of overwhelming conventional air defenses.

Changing global security environment

At the opening ceremony, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler directly linked Türkiye’s military expansion to the rapidly changing global security environment. Referencing both the Russia-Ukraine war and the recent U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, he warned that modern wars were fundamentally reshaping military doctrines and global deterrence structures.

The minister stressed that countries could no longer rely solely on traditional military thinking in an age where drone warfare, electronic attacks, and autonomous systems increasingly determine battlefield outcomes.

The war in Ukraine demonstrated how inexpensive drones could destroy tanks, artillery systems, and naval assets worth millions of dollars. The U.S.-Israel war imposed on Iran underscored the growing strategic importance of maritime autonomy and long-range deterrence systems.

No company attracted larger crowds than Baykar, the Turkish drone manufacturer whose systems have become globally recognized after deployment across multiple conflict zones.

At its stand, visitors surrounded the newly launched K2 Kamikaze UAV, Mızrak long-range loitering munition, and Sivrisinek smart loitering munition.

Baykar officials repeatedly described the systems as products designed for “the next generation of warfare.”

The K2 Kamikaze UAV, developed as a low-cost expendable strike platform, reflects how modern militaries increasingly favor autonomous systems capable of conducting swarm attacks.

The system is designed to function even in intense electronic warfare environments where satellite signals may be jammed or disrupted.

Meanwhile, Mızrak emerged as one of the exhibition’s most strategically significant products.

According to Baykar Teknoloji, the loitering munition combines a range exceeding 1,000 kilometers with AI-assisted autonomous strike capabilities and a payload capacity surpassing 40 kilograms.

Its ability to operate independently of GNSS positioning systems attracted particular attention from foreign delegations concerned about electronic warfare vulnerabilities exposed in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The rapid evolution of drone warfare dominated almost every conversation at SAHA 2026.

But the exhibition also revealed that the future battlefield extends far beyond the skies.

One of the strongest themes emerging from the fair was the growing militarization of the underwater domain.

Turkish defense company ASELSAN unveiled its KILIÇ autonomous underwater strike system and the TUFAN unmanned surface vessel during a heavily attended launch event.

The systems were presented as part of Türkiye’s expanding “Blue Homeland” doctrine, which emphasizes maritime power projection across the Mediterranean, Black Sea, and surrounding waterways.

The KILIÇ system, described as Türkiye’s first autonomous kamikaze underwater vehicle, is designed for covert operations, asymmetric maritime warfare, and autonomous swarm attacks.

The TUFAN unmanned surface vessel, meanwhile, combines surveillance, reconnaissance, and offensive strike capabilities within a single autonomous platform.

ASELSAN CEO Ahmet Akyol described the systems as part of a new era requiring “autonomy, integration and operational flexibility.”

Yet perhaps the most dramatic underwater unveiling came from STM. The company introduced TENGİZ, an Extra Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicle that immediately became one of the most discussed systems at the exhibition.

Measuring more than 11 meters long and capable of operating at depths exceeding 400 meters, the platform can reportedly remain underwater for more than 20 days without external support.

Unlike smaller unmanned underwater systems, TENGİZ is designed to execute missions traditionally associated with conventional submarines.

It can launch heavy torpedoes, deploy mines, conduct intelligence and surveillance operations, and even operate as a “mothership” carrying smaller autonomous underwater systems and loitering munitions.

STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz described the platform as a “game-changing force multiplier” capable of executing high-risk underwater operations without placing personnel in danger.

The unveiling reflected a broader shift in military thinking.

Naval warfare

Naval warfare is increasingly moving toward distributed autonomous systems capable of operating independently at relatively low cost while threatening far more expensive conventional fleets.

The importance of that shift was evident in conversations surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, both repeatedly referenced by military officials and executives during the exhibition.

Elsewhere in the halls, long-range strike systems drew equally intense interest.

STM unveiled KUZGUN, a new long-range kamikaze UAV system capable of striking targets more than 1,000 kilometers away.

The platform, designed for strategic deep-strike missions, reflects how modern militaries increasingly seek low-cost alternatives to expensive cruise missiles.

STM officials openly connected the system’s development to recent global conflicts.

“Global and regional crises have once again demonstrated the decisive role of long-range, cost-effective strike capabilities,” STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz said during the unveiling.

KUZGUN’s design reflects several battlefield lessons emerging from Ukraine and the Middle East.

The platform requires no runway and can launch from mobile systems or fixed launchers using rocket-assisted takeoff.

It is also optimized for heavily jammed environments, using autonomous navigation systems capable of functioning despite electronic interference.

STM also unveiled ALPAGU-B, a larger and more powerful version of its tactical loitering munition family.

Despite weighing under 20 kilograms, the system carries a 4-kilogram fragmentation warhead and is capable of autonomous target tracking using artificial intelligence-assisted image processing.

Company officials described it as bridging the operational gap between tactical drones and strategic autonomous strike systems.

AI-assisted warfare

The rapid evolution of AI-assisted warfare was one of the defining characteristics of SAHA 2026.

Nearly every major company incorporated artificial intelligence into targeting, surveillance, navigation, or swarm coordination systems.

Military planners increasingly believe future conflicts will involve autonomous platforms capable of communicating directly with one another while requiring minimal human intervention.

That trend extended into air defense systems as well.

Directed-energy weapons became one of the exhibition’s most heavily promoted technologies.

ASELSAN unveiled multiple systems linked to Türkiye’s evolving “Steel Dome” air defense architecture, including the GÖKBERK 10 laser weapon system and the EJDERHA 210 microwave weapon platform.

MKE, Türkiye’s historic state defense manufacturer, also introduced a laser-integrated version of its TOLGA close air defense system.

The system is capable of temporarily blinding hostile sensors, permanently disabling optical systems, or physically destroying aerial threats, depending on distance.

Military analysts attending the exhibition noted that such systems are increasingly viewed as essential because traditional missile interceptors remain too expensive for mass drone defense.

The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have exposed how quickly conventional missile stockpiles can be depleted when facing large-scale drone attacks.

Laser systems potentially offer a lower-cost alternative capable of engaging multiple threats rapidly.

MKE emerged from SAHA 2026 as one of the exhibition’s biggest commercial winners.

The company announced 19 separate agreements generating approximately $1.5 billion in strategic gains.

It also conducted meetings with more than 150 official delegations from 63 countries while holding strategic discussions with 96 companies and 301 suppliers from 16 countries.

Executives said the company unveiled more than 50 new systems during the exhibition.

Another major theme throughout SAHA 2026 was localization.

Turkish officials repeatedly stressed that sanctions, export restrictions, and geopolitical uncertainty have convinced Ankara that strategic independence requires domestic control over critical technologies.

At a localization awards ceremony, ASELSAN executives stated that Türkiye’s domestic production ratio in defense manufacturing had risen from around 20% decades ago to more than 80% today.

“Localization makes us independent against every kind of restriction,” ASELSAN CEO Ahmet Akyol said.

Drive towards self-sufficiency

The drive toward self-sufficiency was visible everywhere.

TEI and TUSAŞ signed an agreement for the supply of 100 domestically produced TEI-PD170 turbodiesel engines for ANKA and AKSUNGUR UAV systems.

The agreement is strategically important because aircraft engines remain among the most politically sensitive defense technologies globally. The TEI-PD170 engine offers improved endurance, higher altitude performance, and reduced dependency on foreign suppliers.

Similarly, HAVELSAN and TUSAŞ announced cooperation involving the KOVAN digital management system, which will become part of TUSAŞ’ operational infrastructure.

HAVELSAN CEO Mehmet Akif Nacar described national software infrastructure as essential for secure digital transformation.

Battery technologies also became part of the strategic independence discussion.

ASPİLSAN unveiled its A35 lithium-ion battery system developed for military and industrial use in harsh conditions.

The company described the technology as part of Türkiye’s effort to reduce dependency on critical energy storage systems.

At the geopolitical level, SAHA 2026 also demonstrated how Türkiye increasingly uses defense exports to expand international influence.

ASELSAN signed agreements with Indonesian defense authorities involving unmanned naval systems and mission-critical communication technologies. The systems will reportedly support both the Indonesian Navy and the broader Indonesian armed forces infrastructure.

Türkiye also deepened cooperation with Oman, the UAE, Kenya, Azerbaijan, Hungary, and several European states through agreements announced during the exhibition.

SARSILMAZ signed a strategic memorandum with Spain’s EM&E Group aimed at integrating Turkish weapons systems into remote-controlled combat platforms while expanding joint production possibilities.

Company executives described the agreement as strengthening both Turkish-Spanish defense relations and Türkiye’s role in high-value military exports.

Throughout the exhibition, delegations from Muslim-majority countries remained especially visible.

For many governments across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, Türkiye increasingly represents an alternative supplier capable of providing sophisticated military technology without the political conditions often attached to Western defense exports.

And perhaps that broader geopolitical ambition defined SAHA 2026 more than any individual weapon system.

From autonomous underwater motherships and AI-assisted kamikaze drones to laser weapons and indigenous aircraft engines, SAHA 2026 revealed a defense industry operating with growing confidence and expanding international reach.