HAVELSAN Unveils AVISTA Underwater Autonomy Vehicle at TEKNOFEST
HAVELSAN, the Turkish defence technology company, unveiled its self-funded underwater autonomy project AVISTA to the public for the first time on August 28, 2026, at the TEKNOFEST Blue Homeland event in Gölcük. Built as a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) with six degrees of freedom, AVISTA combines GNSS-free underwater positioning, three-dimensional mapping and ship hull inspection in a single platform.
Key Points
- Unveiled: August 28, 2026, at TEKNOFEST Blue Homeland (Gölcük)
- Developer: HAVELSAN, as an internally funded R&D project
- Platform: Six-degrees-of-freedom remotely operated underwater vehicle
- Headline capabilities: GNSS-independent positioning, 3D underwater mapping, hull inspection, low acoustic signature
- Builds on: engineering experience from the SANCAR and RAFNAR unmanned marine vehicle projects
- Planned integration: with the ÇAKA hybrid submersible unmanned marine vehicle project
- Timeline: sea trials expected to begin shortly, with operational status targeted for 2027
Background
HAVELSAN has rolled out a string of unmanned maritime vehicle projects in recent years. Its earlier SANCAR unmanned surface vehicle and RAFNAR platform built up the engineering base that now underpins AVISTA’s move underwater. According to the company, the vehicle uses platform-independent algorithms and software architecture, meaning the same software backbone could in principle be ported to other underwater platforms.
The standout feature is AVISTA’s ability to maintain precise positioning in environments where satellite signals cannot reach — a capability that matters both for civilian uses such as hull surveys and port security, and for military scenarios such as mine warfare and anti-submarine operations. HAVELSAN says the vehicle is designed to integrate with its ADVENT MÜREN combat management system, opening applications in anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and seabed warfare. On the civilian side, HAVELSAN points to search and rescue, forensic investigation, energy facility inspection and protection of critical underwater infrastructure as target use cases.
The venue was itself notable: TEKNOFEST Blue Homeland is Türkiye’s flagship event for maritime and underwater technology, and HAVELSAN used the occasion to also run children’s workshops introducing the SANCAR and AVISTA unmanned marine vehicles.
Regional Impact
AVISTA fits into Türkiye’s broader push, under its “Blue Homeland” maritime doctrine, to build domestic underwater situational-awareness and inspection capacity. GNSS-independent positioning is a meaningful capability gain for operations in contested or electronically denied environments far from shore. The planned integration with the ÇAKA hybrid unmanned marine vehicle project signals that HAVELSAN is building an interoperable underwater autonomy ecosystem rather than a single standalone product. That approach could reduce Türkiye’s reliance on foreign systems for protecting subsea infrastructure such as pipelines and communication cables — an increasingly prominent concern for NATO’s southern and eastern flanks given recent incidents involving undersea cable damage in the Baltic and Black Sea regions. If AVISTA reaches operational status on its 2027 timeline, it would give both the Turkish military and civilian port and energy operators a dual-use underwater inspection tool developed without foreign licensing dependencies.
FAQ
Is AVISTA a weapon system?
No. AVISTA is an unmanned underwater vehicle designed for positioning, mapping and inspection tasks; it can support military missions when integrated with combat management systems, but it is not itself an armed platform.
When will it become operational?
HAVELSAN says sea trials are expected to begin shortly, with operational readiness targeted for 2027.
What other programs is AVISTA linked to?
It builds on HAVELSAN’s earlier SANCAR and RAFNAR unmanned marine vehicle work and is planned to integrate with the ÇAKA hybrid unmanned marine vehicle project.
