“Our Combat Management Systems (CMS) Will Offer Significant Advantages for the RTN”

Interview: Şevket Ünal – Vice President, International Business Development & Marketing, HAVELSAN

You are participating in the Defence & Security exhibition with a booth for the first time. What motivated this decision?

Yes, this is indeed the first year we are attending the exhibition with our own booth. In previous years, we were here only as visitors; however, our regional manager in Malaysia has always followed the exhibition and developments in the region closely. Over the past two years, we have observed a rapid strengthening of the relationship between Thailand and the Turkish defence industry. This growing engagement is not only a commercial interest, but also a process mutually supported at the governmental level.

For example, the visits of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) to Türkiye are clear indicators of this increasing interest. Therefore, participating with a booth this year provides us with an important opportunity to respond more effectively to the growing attention we are receiving in the region.

What are the projects that HAVELSAN is currently following in this context?

As HAVELSAN, we have been closely monitoring the navy projects on RTN’s agenda for quite some time. Our major contribution to these programmes is naturally our experience in Combat Management Systems (CMS).

As a company providing CMS solutions for naval platforms, we believe our system will offer significant advantages for the RTN. With its modular and scalable architecture, our CMS can be integrated into a wide range of platforms including patrol vessels, corvettes, frigates and logistic support ships. This flexibility provides a substantial advantage for RTN.

Here, we are mainly engaging with the defence institutions and various local partners. We observe a strong intention on the Thai side regarding both technology transfer and local production. Our discussions span multiple areas, ranging from armoured vehicle simulators to different levels of our training and command-and-control solutions. Additionally, advanced management systems for the armed forces are also part of our ongoing agenda.

We are actively collaborating with the Royal Thai Air Force, Navy and Army. In addition, we have had fruitful discussions with several other relevant institutions as part of our broader engagement in the country.

What kind of solutions does HAVELSAN offer in the field of unmanned systems?

HAVELSAN offers a full family of unmanned autonomous systems on land, in the air and at sea, built around a common command-and-control and swarm infrastructure. Our portfolio covers Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) such as BARKAN; Sub-Cloud Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) such as BAHA, BOZBEY, BULUT and POYRAZ; and Armed Unmanned Surface Vehicles (AUSVs) including the SANCAR Armed USV.

On land, BARKAN UGV is designed for multi-role missions—armed reconnaissance, close protection, and other tasks, casualty evacuation and logistics support—thanks to modular payloads, advanced autonomous navigation and swarm-ready architectures that allow joint operations with other unmanned assets.

In the air, the BAHA sub-cloud UAV family provides runway-independent VTOL operations, ISR in GPS-denied and contested environments, and seamless integration of different sensor payloads for both defence and disaster-response missions.

At sea, unmanned systems—particularly our USVs—are one of the key areas we are highlighting at this exhibition. SANCAR goes far beyond classical surveillance: they can be configured for anti-smuggling and counter-human-trafficking operations, maritime law enforcement, base and port protection, surface warfare, search and rescue, mine detection and mine countermeasures. With full integration into our ADVENT naval combat management system and the dedicated ADVENT ROTA solution for unmanned platforms, these USVs deliver network-enabled, autonomous mission execution that has already been validated in live-fire and operational tests.

In short, across UGV, UAV and USV domains, HAVELSAN’s unmanned solutions are mission-oriented, flexible and scalable, enabling users to adapt each platform to a wide range of operational needs while keeping all assets connected under a common, interoperable command-and-control architecture.

What are the most prominent advantages of the ADVENT Combat Management System?

First of all, I can proudly state that ADVENT is used by the Turkish Navy. This stands as our strongest reference and clearly demonstrates the level of maturity the system has achieved. Today, ADVENT is operationally deployed by eight countries across four continents.

The most important feature of ADVENT is that it is a new-generation combat management system built entirely on network-centric warfare capabilities.

ADVENT is not dependent on any specific sensor, weapon, or radar provider. This gives users the freedom to select the most suitable systems from different countries and manufacturers. It not only offers cost advantages but also provides extensive flexibility in platform configuration.

In addition, our CMS provides end users with the flexibility to pick and choose the best-quality systems at the most competitive cost. HAVELSAN’s strong integration capabilities bring all the necessary know-how to deploy a wide range of sensor suites on board—whether for new-build vessels or existing platforms.

How does HAVELSAN’s existing presence in Southeast Asia influence Thailand in particular?

HAVELSAN’s existing presence in Southeast Asia provides Thailand with a strong level of confidence supported by proven regional performance. We have long-standing cooperation in the region, particularly in the field of pilot training. For example, military pilots from partner nations complete their initial, intermediate and advanced training at HAVELSAN facilities in Türkiye. In addition, our portfolio in Southeast Asia includes parachute simulators, armored vehicle simulators and various advanced training solutions that are actively used by regional forces.

These long-term partnerships demonstrate our ability to deliver high-quality, reliable and mission-ready solutions that align well with the climate, operational requirements and threat environment of Southeast Asian countries.

For Thailand, supported by our long-standing activities across Southeast Asia, this regional presence provides both strategic value and a reliable reference base.