HAVELSAN, which has been conducting R&D studies in the field of robotics and autonomous technologies since 2019, aims at “autonomy in military and civil land, air, sea and space vehicles” in the process that started with the driving kit developed over the land vehicles usage scenario.
HAVELSAN Deputy General Manager Muhittin Solmaz said that their work on unmanned systems dates back to 1,5-2 years.
Explaining that they have started work on unmanned aerial and land vehicles under the heading of robotic autonomous systems, Solmaz stated that they have made significant progress in the middle class first level unmanned land vehicles within the scope of the studies. Solmaz stated that their work continues in the under-cloud category of unmanned aerial vehicles.
Emphasizing that these systems can perform joint operations and that they aim to support this by adding intelligence to the platforms, Solmaz said: "Our aim at the starting point is that our different manufacturers can develop platforms independently of the platform, to add intelligence to them, to ensure that these platforms do a joint task with the swarm algorithms we have developed, and to support joint operations. . When necessary, we want to make mission planning jointly with unmanned aerial and land vehicles and unmanned naval vehicles in the future, and to increase the effectiveness of the support or presence of our Turkish Armed Forces and security elements in the field through task sharing.”
Stating that they have come to the point where they can have unmanned aerial and land vehicles do joint missions with the work they have carried out, Solmaz said, "Barkan, which was developed as a middle class first level unmanned land vehicle, will be working together with the under-cloud unmanned aerial vehicle called BAHA or with other drones in addition to them. We have reached a structure that can do this, share tasks, and act as a herd by adding intelligence to them.” said.
Barkan “will make his mind speak”
Explaining that they had previously developed 2 prototype unmanned land vehicles, Solmaz said that Barkan passed many tests.
Explaining that Barkan was developed in order to carry out armed reconnaissance and surveillance and to support the elements in the field, Solmaz said, “Our work is not only on the vehicle. Our biggest goal is to add artificial intelligence-supported intelligence to these tools and platforms. It is important that our vehicles are capable of jointly performing tasks and sharing tasks with unmanned aerial vehicles, other unmanned land vehicles or other manned elements, and increasing our effectiveness in the field.” made its assessment.
Stating that Barkan weighs around 500 kilograms to meet the technical specification criteria of the Presidency of Defense Industries in the middle class first level category, Solmaz stated that they have integrated a remote-controlled Sarp weapon system into the vehicle. Solmaz also noted that they offer the operator a wide view opportunity with remote control and all-round visibility with many communication devices in the vehicle.
Solmaz said, "We will continue our work on autonomous and robotic unmanned land vehicles, which are called heavy class after Barkan." he said.
The goal is to deliver on the field this year
Muhittin Solmaz, who also made statements regarding the project schedule, shared the following information: “Our goal is to start the first field trials of these vehicles as of July or August. It is obvious that there will be some modifications to our vehicles according to the feedback from the field. Some improvements may also be necessary. Towards the end of this year, we want to be able to see our vehicles in the field and to support these vehicles with unmanned aerial vehicles, especially under the cloud, and put them into use in the field. Our first unmanned aerial vehicle will take its place in the field as of June.”
Pointing out that their ultimate goal is to move to “digital unity” and to contribute to the elements in the field with digital units, Solmaz said: “We want to increase the capability and competence of digital unity with autonomous and robotic systems. We aim to support the Turkish Armed Forces and security forces with solutions that will make Turkey's presence especially felt in the critical regions around it and make us feel more confident as citizens of the Republic of Turkey. Life is important to us. The lives of our military personnel are very valuable to us. We continue our efforts to support them in the operation, to provide maximum benefit and to offer systems and technologies that can function in line with their wishes.”
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