Turkiye intends to build its own fleet of kamikaze maritime drones and has already set plans to procure just over a hundred such systems for its navy.
The decision was taken in February of this year by the Defense Industry Executive Committee, with the Defense Industries Presidency (Savunma Sanayii Baskanlıgı — SSB) serving as the procurement authority.
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Defense News reports that the total order covers 104 maritime drones, distributed roughly equally among three domestic companies: Aselsan will produce 40 drones, while STM and Havelsan will each produce 32.
In this program, Aselsan is working with Ares Shipyard and offering its Tufan drone, which was first unveiled at the SAHA Expo exhibition in early May. Sea trials are scheduled for June, with fleet delivery planned for 2027. The Tufan is 8.5 m in length, with a maximum speed of approximately 90 km/h and a range of around 370 km. It can carry a 250 kg payload, with a warhead comparable in power to an Mk 82 bomb.
STM, in partnership with Yonca Shipyard, will produce the Yaktu drone, also unveiled at SAHA Expo. It shares similar speed and range characteristics with the Tufan but is more compact at 5.8 m in length. The warhead mass has not been officially disclosed but is likely comparable to that of the Tufan.
Havelsan will work with Sefine Shipyard; which specific drone they will produce has not been announced.
From Defense Express’s perspective, one noteworthy detail highlighted in the report is that the specific total of 104 units is tied to an operational doctrine calling for the use of small four-drone swarms.
Why four specifically is not officially explained. That number in a single swarm may be insufficient depending on the target, given that these are strike drones tasked with sinking enemy vessels or engaging coastal targets. Most likely, four simply represents the minimum defined swarm size, as SSB has previously stated under its Unmanned Surface Vehicle Swarm Demonstration Project that swarm composition is flexible and can be scaled up or down as needed.
It is also worth noting that Turkiye began developing the maritime drone concept before Ukraine demonstrated its battlefield viability. As far back as 2021, a four-drone swarm of Albatros-S drones from Aselsan was demonstrated under this program, followed two years later by an eight-drone swarm. In 2023, Turkiye also claimed to be the first country in the world to demonstrate a combined swarm attack integrating surface and aerial unmanned systems.
Defense Express previously reported how Turkiye may gain a new drone customer thanks to a U.S. policy shift a country that had previously imposed sanctions on Ankara.
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