Turkish Drone Shield Makes African Debut: Turaç’s Anti-Drone Turret at BAMEX 2026
Turkish ammunition maker Turaç introduced its autonomous counter-drone turret, “Drone Kalkanı” (Drone Shield), to African buyers for the first time at BAMEX 2026 in Bamako, Mali. The company showed a scale model mounted on a pickup truck alongside footage from live firing tests.
A shotgun turret built for the “metal cloud”
Turaç, which has produced small-arms ammunition at its Çankırı plant since 1987, developed Drone Kalkanı with four other Turkish companies specializing in firearms, robotics, mechanical engineering, algorithms and electro-optics, plus one university. General Manager Fatih Altunbaş said the fully autonomous system is roughly 95 percent through development: “Ours is genuinely very close to finished.”
The turret pairs a pan-tilt robotic mount with two semi-automatic 12-gauge Derya MAX shotguns. Sensors detect and track targets at 600 to 800 meters, and once a drone closes to 150 meters the turret fires both barrels simultaneously using Turaç’s own Sterling-brand 12-gauge magnum anti-drone shells, producing a dense pellet cloud intended to down the target kinetically rather than with guided munitions.
Why Bamako, why now
BAMEX 2026 runs November 9-13 under the patronage of Mali’s presidency and is organized by the Turkish firm The Peak Defense. Turkish companies dominated the indoor exhibition hall, while Russian-origin vehicles were displayed outside; Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan and Egypt sent strong delegations, and Uganda’s defense minister visited the Turkish pavilion.
Citing Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM) data, Altunbaş said Baykar, Roketsan and Turaç rank as Türkiye’s top defense sellers to Mali. Turaç’s conventional ammunition has been sold in Mali since 2013, and the company now distributes across more than 20 African countries, managing the ECOWAS region through local partners out of Mali. Until this fair, its African sales were limited mostly to shotgun shells and standard ammunition; BAMEX marked the continent’s first look at its counter-drone line.
AFRICOM’s commander stopped by
U.S. Air Force Gen. Dagvin Anderson, commander of U.S. Africa Command, toured the fair after meeting Mali’s head of state and stopped at the Turaç stand to watch footage of Drone Kalkanı in action. Altunbaş said Anderson appeared surprised that a Turkish company had developed and first launched the system. Malian defense, intelligence and security officials have shown serious interest and talks are continuing, according to Altunbaş, who added that proposals have come in from East Africa and that a showing in Algeria or Tunisia could follow soon. The system’s next major outing is planned for IDEX in Abu Dhabi in February, where Turaç will pitch it for protecting Gulf refineries and petrochemical sites.
Where it fits in Türkiye’s counter-drone lineup
Drone Kalkanı adds a new layer to Türkiye’s fast-growing counter-UAS portfolio, which already includes ASELSAN’s electro-optic and acoustic-sensor turrets and MKE’s TOLGA short-range air defense system. What sets Turaç’s entry apart is its identity as an ammunition manufacturer: rather than relying on expensive guided interceptors, it leans on purpose-built shotgun rounds for a lower-cost kinetic kill. That cost profile could matter most against cheap, swarming commercial drones in African and Middle Eastern markets, which is also the logic behind the refinery-protection pitch Altunbaş plans to make at IDEX.
Sources
Statements by Turaç General Manager Fatih Altunbaş, November 11, 2026, on the sidelines of BAMEX 2026. Used for: the system’s technical specifications, development status and positioning in the African market, from the manufacturer’s own account.
