What Does HAVELSAN Produce? Its Product Families and Systems
What does HAVELSAN produce? The short answer: not hardware, but software and systems. The Ankara-based company does not build ships, aircraft or armoured vehicles; it produces the combat management systems, simulators, unmanned-vehicle software, cyber-security products and artificial-intelligence platforms that run on those platforms. This article walks through HAVELSAN’s product families one by one — what they are and what they do.
Founded in 1982, with roughly 98 percent of its capital held by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV), the company is profiled in our What is HAVELSAN? overview, and its business domains are covered in What does HAVELSAN do?
Combat management systems: ADVENT and GENESIS
HAVELSAN’s best-known products are the combat management systems (CMS) that act as a warship’s “brain”. GENESIS, developed from 1999 for 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 and is reported in open sources to be in use on more than thirty platforms. These systems fuse radar, sonar, weapon and communications data into a single common picture. Derivatives such as ADVENT ROTA belong to the same family.
Simulators and training systems
HAVELSAN produces full-mission simulators for both military and civil platforms — the ATAKSİM simulator for the T129 ATAK helicopter, training simulators for helicopters such as the S-70 and Cougar, and civil flight simulators. These products let pilots and crews rehearse emergency and combat scenarios repeatedly without risking a real platform.
Unmanned and autonomous vehicles
The company’s fastest-growing product group is unmanned systems. Notable members of this family include:
- BARKAN: an autonomous-capable unmanned ground vehicle (UGV).
- KAPGAN: a heavier-class unmanned ground vehicle.
- BAHA: a sub-cloud autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
- SANCAR: an armed unmanned surface vessel developed jointly with the Yonca-Onuk shipyard, with HAVELSAN supplying the mission-management software.
The common aim across these vehicles is not mere remote control but autonomous, swarm-capable operation — what HAVELSAN calls the “digital troop” concept. It should be noted that SANCAR is a joint product, with the vessel itself belonging to Yonca-Onuk.
Cyber security and artificial intelligence
HAVELSAN develops products for critical-infrastructure protection, cyber monitoring and data security. On the AI side its flagship is HAVELSAN MAIN, an enterprise AI platform that can be trained on an organisation’s own data and run on closed networks. Its security module offers functions such as AI-assisted vulnerability detection and anomaly analysis.
Public-sector IT solutions
What HAVELSAN produces is not limited to the military. In open sources the company is associated with public IT projects such as elections, land registry and e-government — products that demonstrate its large-scale software and data-management capacity beyond defence.
HAVELSAN product families at a glance
| Product | Type | Short description |
|---|---|---|
| ADVENT | Combat management system | Network-centric, multi-platform next-generation CMS |
| GENESIS | Combat management system | Türkiye’s first indigenous CMS (Gabya) |
| ATAKSİM | Simulator | Full-mission simulator for the T129 ATAK |
| BARKAN | Unmanned ground vehicle | Autonomous-capable UGV |
| KAPGAN | Unmanned ground vehicle | Heavier-class UGV |
| BAHA | Unmanned aerial vehicle | Sub-cloud autonomous UAV |
| SANCAR | Unmanned surface vessel (joint) | Armed USV; HAVELSAN mission software |
| MAIN | AI platform | Enterprise AI running on closed networks |
Frequently asked questions
What does HAVELSAN concretely produce?
Combat management systems, simulators, unmanned-vehicle software, cyber-security products, AI platforms and public-sector IT solutions. It does not build platforms such as ships or aircraft.
What is HAVELSAN’s best-known product?
Internationally, the ADVENT combat management system; on the unmanned side, BARKAN and BAHA stand out.
Is SANCAR a HAVELSAN product?
SANCAR is a joint product: the vessel belongs to the Yonca-Onuk shipyard, while HAVELSAN supplies the mission-management software.
Are ADVENT and GENESIS the same thing?
No. GENESIS is Türkiye’s first indigenous combat management system; ADVENT is a newer, network-centric system. ADVENT is not a “new name” for GENESIS.
Does HAVELSAN have an AI product?
Yes. HAVELSAN MAIN is an enterprise AI platform that can be trained on an organisation’s own data and run on closed networks.
Sources
- HAVELSAN product pages (ADVENT, GENESIS, BARKAN, KAPGAN, BAHA, SANCAR, MAIN) — havelsan.com
- TSKGV, Affiliates — tskgv.org.tr
- Presidency of Defence Industries — ssb.gov.tr
