What Does HAVELSAN Do? Business Domains and a Project’s Life Cycle
HAVELSAN is, at its core, a defence software and systems-integration company. It does not build ships, aircraft or armoured vehicles; it builds the software layer that makes those platforms “intelligent” — the command-and-control software that fuses a warship’s sensors, weapons and communications onto a single screen, the simulators that train pilots without a real aircraft, the autonomy software that lets an unmanned vehicle carry out a mission on its own, and the digital backbone of public institutions.
Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Ankara, the company has roughly 98 percent of its capital held by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV). This article looks, based on open sources, at what work HAVELSAN actually does, its business domains, and how a project travels from idea to the field. For a general profile, see our What is HAVELSAN? overview.
What does HAVELSAN really do? The software-house model
The visible face of the defence industry is usually the platform makers — shipyards and aircraft or armoured-vehicle plants. But the software layer that makes those platforms useful in the field is largely produced by companies like HAVELSAN. It is therefore best described as a “software and systems house”: other firms build the hardware, and HAVELSAN turns that hardware into a whole that senses, decides and communicates.
Its work generally follows four steps: analysing the need of the user — usually the Turkish Armed Forces or a public institution — developing software tailored to that need, integrating the software with the platform’s existing hardware and sensors, and finally training the user on the system. HAVELSAN is thus not only a company that “writes code” but also one that delivers integration and training services.
HAVELSAN’s four main business domains
The company officially groups its work into four domains, each answering a distinct defence or public-sector need.
1) Command-and-control and combat management
This is HAVELSAN’s best-known work. GENESIS, developed from 1999 for the modernisation of Gabya-class frigates, was Türkiye’s first indigenous combat management system. ADVENT is a newer, network-centric system developed from the 2010s that links several platforms over a network. These systems act as a warship’s “brain”, fusing radar, sonar, weapon and communications data into a single common picture to support the commander’s decisions. Broadly, this work belongs to the C4ISR field.
2) Training and simulation
HAVELSAN builds full-mission simulators for both military and civil platforms, including the ATAKSİM simulator for the T129 ATAK helicopter, training systems for helicopters such as the S-70 and Cougar, and civil flight simulators. The purpose of simulators is to let crews rehearse emergency and combat scenarios repeatedly without risking a real platform — cutting cost and allowing risky scenarios to be practised safely.
3) Homeland and cyber security
Here HAVELSAN develops products for critical-infrastructure protection, cyber monitoring and data security. The aim is to protect defence and public networks against external threats and to detect attacks early. The security module within the company’s AI platform offers functions such as AI-assisted vulnerability detection and anomaly analysis.
4) Management information systems and public projects
HAVELSAN’s work is not limited to the military. Digital transformation of public institutions, data management and large-scale IT projects are also part of its portfolio. In open sources the company is associated with public IT projects such as elections, land registry and e-government — work that shows its engineering capacity beyond defence.
Unmanned, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence
In recent years unmanned/autonomous systems and artificial intelligence have been added to these four domains. The BARKAN unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), the heavier KAPGAN UGV and the BAHA sub-cloud autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle are products of this line. HAVELSAN also supplies the mission-management software for SANCAR, an armed unmanned surface vessel developed jointly with the Yonca-Onuk shipyard. The common goal is not mere remote control but autonomous, swarm-capable mission execution — what the company calls the “digital troop” concept: managing different platforms as a swarm from a single command centre.
How does a HAVELSAN project work?
What makes HAVELSAN’s work concrete is the path a project follows. A typical defence-software project passes roughly through these stages:
- Requirements analysis: capturing the operational needs of the user institution (e.g. the Navy).
- Software development: writing the combat management system, simulator or autonomy software specifically for that need.
- Integration: making the software work with the platform’s radar, weapons, communications and other subsystems.
- Test and verification: trialling the system in scenarios close to real conditions.
- Training and sustainment: training the user on the system and updating and supporting the software over its life.
This cycle also explains why HAVELSAN’s work is not a one-off sale: a combat management system or simulator is a living product that is updated and supported throughout the platform’s service life.
What HAVELSAN does, at a glance
| Domain | What it does | Example product / output |
|---|---|---|
| Command-and-control | Fuses a platform’s sensors and weapons onto one screen | ADVENT, GENESIS |
| Training and simulation | Creates a training environment without a real platform | ATAKSİM, flight simulators |
| Homeland and cyber security | Protects critical infrastructure and networks | Cyber monitoring, security module |
| Management IT | Public-sector digital transformation and data management | Public IT projects |
| Unmanned / autonomous | Gives vehicles autonomous mission capability | BARKAN, KAPGAN, BAHA, SANCAR |
| Artificial intelligence | Enterprise AI platform running on closed networks | HAVELSAN MAIN |
Frequently asked questions
Does HAVELSAN build ships or aircraft?
No. HAVELSAN is not a platform manufacturer; it does not build ships, aircraft or armoured vehicles. It provides their software and systems integration.
What is HAVELSAN’s core business?
Defence software and systems integration. Its best-known work is the ADVENT and GENESIS combat management systems developed for warships.
Does HAVELSAN only do military work?
No. Alongside military projects, public-sector digital transformation, data management and large-scale IT projects are also part of its work.
Does HAVELSAN produce unmanned systems?
Yes. The software for the BARKAN and KAPGAN unmanned ground vehicles, the BAHA unmanned aerial vehicle and the SANCAR unmanned surface vessel is part of this line.
What does HAVELSAN do with artificial intelligence?
Its enterprise AI platform, HAVELSAN MAIN, can be trained on an organisation’s own data and run on closed networks, offering functions such as vulnerability detection and anomaly analysis on the security side.
Sources
- HAVELSAN corporate and product pages (ADVENT, GENESIS, BARKAN, BAHA, SANCAR, MAIN) — havelsan.com
- TSKGV, Affiliates — tskgv.org.tr
- Presidency of Defence Industries project information — ssb.gov.tr
