BAHA, BULUT, and BOZBEY fixed-wing VTOL UAVs of HAVELSAN have been tested on both ships and the SANCAR USV for maritime use following the ground-based use.
Anadolu News Agency reported that HAVELSAN has tested its VTOL UAV family with different naval platforms. BAHA, BULUT, and BOZBEY are set to be deployed on both manned and unmanned naval platforms.
The test footages, including takeoff/landing tests from different platforms, show the first instance of a USV teaming up with an UAV in Turkiye.
Additionally, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency will receive BOZBEY UAVs for use onboard the multi-mission ships to be built by DESAN, a Turkish shipbuilder.
Enetki Defence is another Turkish firm working on pairing fixed-wing VTOL UAVs with ships, having shared a takeoff/landing test on the helipad of a moving ship not long ago.
USVs and ships using radars and onboard optics are limited by the horizon, while a UAV is affected to a considerably lesser degree due to a certain height of operation. This not only expands the observation envelope but also offers a remote sensor against asymmetric threats like kamikaze USVs, which are hard to spot at sea level due to their low profile.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor:Özgür Ekşi
