3rd Military Radar and Border Security Summit Held in Ankara
The 3rd International Military Radar and Border Security Summit (3rd MRBS), organized by MUSIAD Ankara, was held at Hacettepe Beytepe Congress Center on October 5-6, 2021.
In the eight sessions during the two days, the following topics were discussed: "Anti-Drone Radar Systems", "Terrorism and Border Security", "Digital Maritime and Communication", "Innovative Technologies Against Asymmetric Threats in Border Security", "Border Security Custom Technologies" and "The Importance of Border Security in World War III”.
In the opening speech of the event, President of Defense Industries İsmail DEMİR made statements about border security, waves of migration and the opportunities provided by domestic defense industry solutions. “Increasing waves of immigration and the elements threatening our country's security at our borders have increased the importance of related technologies and solutions. In recent years, our country's territorial borders of around 3 thousand kilometers, especially the Syrian border, has been violated in various ways. Our border line must be monitored 24/7 against illegal migrant crossings, terrorist crossings and smuggling activities. Within this framework, integrated security solutions incorporating modern electronic sensor systems are needed for uninterrupted monitoring and surveillance. Although there are multiple factors affecting Turkey's border security, as the threats against our country increase and diversify, the demand and need for border security systems also increases. If the borders provide a higher level of security, the problems emerged by these threats will be minimized. As the Presidency of Defense Industries, we continue our efforts in this field in line with the needs and demands of the user authorities. Border security system components and especially the radar systems are among the defense elements our security forces use as primary sensors to meet such need and which we call indispensable in reconnaissance surveillance/early warning applications.”
Stating that the first delivery of Aselsan EIRS (Early Warning Radar System), developed by Aselsan, will be made in November, DEMİR said that in addition to this, the first product of the Low Altitude Radar System Project, the new product of the EIRS radar family, will enter the inventory next year. “Today, radar systems have become an essential and indispensable element of warfare and border security. Thus, it is of great importance to domestically meet our medium and long-term needs for military and civilian radar systems, to develop the capabilities of the domestic industry in this field, and to increase the knowhow in universities and research institutions and utilize such knowhow within the defense industry. In this context, we plan to make the first delivery of our Early Warning Radar System (EIRS) to our Air Force Command next month. In addition, the first product of the Low Altitude Radar System Project, the new product of the EIRS radar family, will be taken into the inventory next year. We plan to increase the number of our national radar systems that will significantly expand the capabilities of our security forces in the following years. Additionally, as part of our Border Security System Project “KAYI”, we are preparing the infrastructures for the installation and integration of sensor systems for 24/7 border line monitoring, control and data recording at our border patrols. Within the scope of the project, several subsystems, especially cameras, ground surveillance radars, tethered balloon-borne radar systems, wide area surveillance system and fiber optic acoustic sensors are used in an integrated manner. In this way, an uninterrupted security solution is provided.”
Summarizing the latest status in the Coastal Surveillance Radar System Project (SGRS/CSRS), DEMİR stated that the development activities in the project have reached the final stage and that the first phase of the project, covering the basic functions, was put into the service of the Coast Guard Command. DEMİR also expressed that the necessary steps have been taken by the Presidency of Defense Industries to initiate projects for the development of radar systems required for the early detection of drone systems, rocket and mortar ammunition, which have become a critical threat especially in recent months.
In his speech, President of Defense Industries İsmail DEMİR also gave information about the F-16 and Akıncı UCAV nose radars as well as other ongoing radar projects. “In addition to our radar systems used for maritime and air surveillance, our activities for the national development of the nose radars of the F-16 aircraft in the inventory of our Air Force and the Akıncı UAV system that we delivered this year also continue. Along with the conventional radar systems, the tests of the prototypes developed for Passive Radar Systems, which will increase our strength against electronic warfare and support our armed forces in detecting low-visibility aircraft, were successfully finalized at the beginning of this year. The activities required for serial production are currently being executed. Similarly, the technology acquisition contract for Multistatic Radar Systems was signed during IDEF’21 last month.”
President of Defense Industries Prof. İsmail DEMİR and Deputy Minister of National Defense Muhsin DERE visited the company stands after the morning session on the first day of the event, while the Minister of Internal Affairs Süleyman SOYLU and the accompanying delegation examined the products of the companies in the exhibition area and received information from the authorities in the afternoon. On the second day of the event, Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa VARANK attended the event.
Approximately 1,500 participants and visitors from 110 defense industry companies, ministries, public institutions and organizations, military attaché offices and embassies and universities attended the 3rd International Military Radar and Border Security Summit
