HAVELSAN officially begins mass production of BARKAN, the medium-class Level 1 autonomous unmanned ground vehicle, now in active service with the Turkish Armed Forces. The move follows a formal production decision by Türkiye’s Presidency of Defense Industries.
BARKAN first entered military inventory in 2023. Since then, based on operational feedback, its performance has been significantly upgraded. Now equipped with an expanded range of mission-specific payloads, BARKAN continues to deliver successful results in real-world deployments.
To meet rising production demand, HAVELSAN expands its project team and integrates new subcontractors into its ecosystem. While platform development is carried out with these partners, HAVELSAN manages all software development internally—a core area of its expertise. With each software update, BARKAN’s battlefield effectiveness improves measurably.
Simulation technologies play a central role in BARKAN’s development. In addition to live field testing, HAVELSAN relies on virtual simulations to validate performance—positioning BARKAN as the most advanced and capable unmanned ground vehicle in its category.
HAVELSAN General Manager Dr. Mehmet Akif Nacar emphasizes that BARKAN’s success stems from early confidence in its potential and the strong support of both the Turkish Land Forces Command and the Presidency of Defense Industries. “Our partner firms worked in perfect synergy. I thank everyone involved,” Nacar says.
Deputy General Manager for Simulation, Autonomous, and Platform Management Technologies, Muhittin Solmaz, highlights that BARKAN is not just an individual asset—it’s built for coordinated swarm operations alongside unmanned air and ground systems. “Every advancement made in BARKAN also strengthens our swarm capability,” he explains.
Product Development and ELD Director Veysel Ataoğlu reflects on the hands-on development process alongside security forces in the field. “Mass production is a major vote of confidence. This milestone belongs equally to our team, our ground partners, our subcontractors, and the Defense Industries Presidency,” he says.
HAVELSAN now positions BARKAN not just as a tactical solution, but as a key component of Türkiye’s evolving unmanned warfare capabilities.
Javeria Sajid is an Aerospace Engineering student from NUST with a background in technology and a sharp focus on the global political landscape and defence innovation. She writes to make complex defence technologies understandable, and aspires to bridge journalism, policy, and engineering in her work.
