Achieving Progressive Growth, SAHA EXPO Takes Firm Steps to Become a Global Brand
It has been announced that a total of 608 companies, including 203 foreign companies from 36 countries, participated in the SAHA EXPO 2021 Fair, which was open to industry professionals by invitation only for the first 3 days (10-11-12 November 2021). 480 of these companies opened stands at the Fair and exhibited their products. During the Fair, where delegations from more than 30 countries and more than 25,000 visitors were hosted in four days, 30 contracts, agreements and protocols worth US$ 123.5 million were signed.
The SAHA EXPO 2021 Defense and Aerospace Industry Fair, which was held as a hybrid exhibition until November 13th, became a virtual exhibition (online) on November 15th. The SAHA EXPO Virtual Exhibition will continue until February 15, 2022. Thanks to XperExpo, the virtual fair application specific to the SAHA Fair developed by BITES, a member of SAHA Istanbul and a subsidiary of ASELSAN, participants can visit the exhibition, which consists of four main halls and foyer areas, via computers and mobile devices, and examine the products and catalogs in the virtual stands 24/7. At the virtual exhibition where products and videos can be watched, participants can chat online with company officials and share their business cards. At the SAHA EXPO Virtual Exhibition, more than 500 products are exhibited with their three-dimensional models, and more than 150,000 participants are expected to visit the virtual exhibition.
The SAHA EXPO 2021 Fair is an exhibition where companies developing products in the fields of defense and aerospace exhibit their products, attend various panels and B2B meetings are held with national and international participants and ideas that will contribute to the development of the sector are evaluated. (For example, ASELSAN alone held an impressive 392 meetings with 255 different companies, 20 of which were foreign).
Hosting industry professionals coming from different countries, the Fair attracts attention as a platform where the main platform manufacturers, suppliers and companies that want to take place as suppliers in these sectors come together.
Opening Ceremony
The official opening ceremony of SAHA EXPO 2021 Fair, where Turkey's domestic production potential in the defense, aviation, maritime and space industries is exhibited, was held on November 11, 2021. Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of National Defense Hulusi AKAR described the fair as a significant organization in which the independent production power, potential and capabilities of the defense industry are showcased.
In his speech, Minister AKAR highlighted that even infantry rifles were supplied from abroad in the past, and said, “Now, we are happy and confident that we have achieved the level of designing, developing, manufacturing and exporting our National Infantry Rifles, smart precision guided munitions, MBRLs, FIRTINA Howitzers, UAVs / Armed UAVs / UCAVs, ATAK Helicopters, frigates and warships. In addition, our intense efforts regarding radar and electronic warfare systems, National Combat Aircraft, SIPER Air Defense System, ANADOLU Amphibious Assault Ship continue.” Emphasizing that the Turkish defense industry has gained the capacity to meet the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces as well as the defense needs of friendly and allied countries, Minister AKAR said, “Our country has come to a position that produces and develops technology. There is no turning back and hopefully we will reach the goal. Many issues that were once a dream for us have become a reality today. We can easily claim that Turkey has strengthened its power by eliminating its foreign dependency in the defense industry to a large extent. The Turkish Armed Forces has gained the advantages and operational superiority of high technology, which only a few armies in the world can achieve. As it can be clearly seen, the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) is striving more intensely and effectively than ever, with great sacrifice and heroism, to protect the rights of both our country and our friends and brothers in the region, in the north of Syria and Iraq, in Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean and many other geographies, and to contribute to regional and global peace and stability.”
Following the speeches, Minister AKAR and the protocol members cut ribbons and officially opened the SAHA EXPO 2021 Defense and Aerospace Industry Fair. Minister AKAR then visited the stands together with Deputy Minister of National Defense Muhsin DERE and SAHA Istanbul Chairman of the Board Haluk BAYRAKTAR and received information. Watching the short video of the test fire of the 76/62mm National Naval Gun on November 10th at the stand of MKE Inc., Minister AKAR received information about the product from General Manager Yasin AKDERE. Minister AKAR then said the following to the members of the press following his stand visit. “Machine and Chemical Industry Inc. (MKE) achieved great success in a very short time with its new structure and continues to do so. We are proud to follow such success. Meeting the needs of our Armed Forces is quite critical for all of us. By acting dynamically in this regard, MKE will hopefully find the opportunity to solve the problems in a much faster and permanent way by using the opportunities brought by its new structure. This is of great importance in terms of meeting the needs of not only our country but also friendly and allied countries.”
Speaking at the SAHA EXPO Virtual Fair Session, which was held online on November 22, 2021, SAHA Istanbul Chairman of the Board and BAYKAR General Manager Haluk BAYRAKTAR pointed out that SAHA Istanbul has 674 members and said, “Established in 2015, this cluster was formed to ensure the sustainability of our sector in order to add the dynamism of the private sector to the developments that have emerged with the vision of a national technology move in the last 20 years in the defense industry in Turkey, and to carry our sector to the future with more strength. In a period of 6 years, Turkey's largest industrial cluster has become the second largest industrial cluster in Europe.” Expressing that there is a state of mobilization in the sector, BAYRAKTAR said, “In this sense, SAHA EXPO 2021 has filled an important gap. Success stories in Turkey are not only reachable by main platforms. Success is not only based on our Armed UAVs, UAVs or ships and fighter aircraft that we develop. In fact, it is based on the sub-components, technologies and materials. We have seen that there is a critical expertise in these areas as well.” Sharing details about the SAHA EXPO Fair in his speech, BAYRAKTAR also said, “Although we have just organized the second one, the fair has reached 5-fold of the first one in terms of the size. The number of participating companies increased 5 times. The area has also been expanded in the same way. There is serious participation from abroad, particularly from countries with which we have strategic cooperation. 30 contracts, agreements and protocols were signed within the scope of the fair. These are quite satisfactory achievements. We do not want these achievements and gains to remain within the scope of only a 4-day physical fair. Let's spread this throughout the year. The industry is truly dynamic. There have been quite sound collaborations. In other words, more than 8,000 B2B collaboration meetings were held only at SAHA EXPO. We want to transfer this to the digital world in accordance with the requirements of the modern world.”
Contracts, Agreements and Cooperation Protocols Signed
Within the scope of the SAHA EXPO 2021 Defense and Aerospace Industry Fair, 31 contracts, agreements and cooperation protocols with a total value of US$ 123.5 million were signed. Some of these are given below:
On November 10th, the Drone Detection Radar Procurement Contract between ROKETSAN and METEKSAN DEFENSE within the scope of the Laser Weapon Systems Supply (ALKA) Project
On November 11th, the AI-322F Turbofan Engine Supply Contract and the AI-25TLT Turbofan Engine Integration Contract for the Unmanned Combat Aircraft System (MIUS) between BAYKAR and Ivchenko Progress
On November 11th, the MS-500V-S Turboprop Engine Technical Specification Agreement between BAYKAR and Motor Sich for the BAYRAKTAR AKINCI Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV)
On November 12th, the CATS Electro-Optic Sensor System Order Agreement between BAYKAR and ASELSAN
Cooperation Protocol between Koç Savunma and Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center
Cooperation Protocol between HAVELSAN, TÜBİTAK BİLGEM and ASİSGUARD regarding the High-Power Laser System
ASISGUARD Company, which previously delivered SONGAR, an armed drone with an integrated 5.56mm machine gun, to the TAF, signed an Export Agreement with a country regarding the export of the SONGAR Armed Drone System. Thus, the number of countries with which contracts were signed increased to 2, and the contracts with 3 different countries are in the final stage.
On November 11th, a contract was signed between TUSAŞ and İŞBİR regarding the supply of Mobile Electric Power Supply (MEGK) to be used in the AKSUNGUR UCAV Ground Control Stations that will be put into service soon. Within the scope of the project, MEGK delivery of 6 units of 2x40kVA (each of which has two separate redundant generators) will be carried out.
A Generator Order Contract was signed between BAYKAR and İŞBİR for the BAYRAKTAR AKINCI UCAV and the BAYRAKTAR TB2 A-UAV. İŞBİR had previously delivered 4 AKINCI Generator Systems for the AKINCI UCAV Ground Control Station, each of which contains two separate redundant generators of 70kVA.
ADGK Generator Supply Subcontracting Agreement between ASFAT and İŞBİR
Contract for the delivery of MAM-L, MAM-C and other equipment between ROKETSAN and BAYKAR
Cooperation Protocol between DASAL Aerospace Technologies and Kızılay Logistics for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in logistics activities
Composite manufacturing order contract between BAYKAR and Epsilon Composite
HAVELSAN signed a Cooperation Protocol with Bilge Adam Technologies, ETİYA and Bilin Software Inc. for the National Business Management System KOVAN it has developed.
Engine Contracts Between BAYKAR, Ivchenko Progress and Motor Sich
On the second day of SAHA EXPO 2021, BAYKAR signed a series of contracts with Ukrainian engine manufacturer Ivchenko Progress for turbofan engines to be used in the Unmanned Combat Aircraft System (UCAV/MIUS) and with Motor Sich Company for more powerful turboprop engines to be used in the AKINCI UCAV.
The contract signed for the UCAV/MIUS Project covers the AI-322F Turbofan Engine Supply and the AI-25TLT Turbofan Engine Integration. General Manager Haluk BAYRAKTAR on behalf of BAYKAR and General Manager Igor F. KRAVCHENKO on behalf of Ivchenko Progress, signed the Supply and Integration Contracts.
Speaking at the ceremony, BAYKAR General Manager BAYRAKTAR pointed to a long-standing cooperation between the two companies and stated that Ukraine and Turkey are two strategic partners, and they complement each other: “Our Strategic AKINCI Unmanned Aerial Vehicle was powered by Ivchenko Progress' AI-450 engine. We conduct serial production activities for AKINCI. Next is the unmanned combat aerial vehicle. With the contract, we will use the AI-322F Engine, produced jointly by Ivchenko Progress and Motor Sich, on our unmanned combat aerial vehicle. I hope this contract will further the strategic cooperation between the two countries.”
On behalf of Ivchenko Progress, General Manager Igor F. KRAVCHENKO thanked the Presidents of the two countries for their support and emphasized that the cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey has reached a new level with this agreement. “Turkey is currently one of the powerful UAV manufacturers in the world. Ukraine is one of the 6 countries that can produce engines from A to Z. I am confident that our joint work will contribute to the security and independence of the two countries, as well as offering a new and stronger product to the world. I believe this joint work will contribute not only to the defense industry but also to the economies of the two countries. Today, we see the results of this cooperation achieved by mutual trust. There have been times we solved problems just over the phone. We are getting the results of our work with prompt efficiency today. We hereby guarantee that this armed UAV will operate in the best and strongest way. I am sure this will not be our last project and we will step into newer projects together.”
The AI-322F Turbofan Engine, exhibited at the booth of Ivchenko Progress (designer) / Motor Sich (manufacturer) within the scope of SAHA EXPO 2021, is a version of the AI-322 Turbofan Engine with afterburner. The AI-322F, the dry weight of which is given as 560 kg in the product brochure, can produce 4,200 kgf of thrust when the afterburner is on, and its specific fuel consumption is 1.9 kgf/h. It is stated that the engine with a fan diameter of 624 mm can produce 2,700 kgf of thrust while operating at a speed of Mach 1.4 at an altitude of 11,000 m. The AI-322F Turbofan Engine has a thrust of 2,500 kgf without afterburner and a maximum specific fuel consumption of 0.66 kgf/h. The thrust power of the AI-25TLT Turbofan Engine is given in the product brochure as 1.720 kgf under normal conditions and 1.850 kgf in emergency situations, while the SFC value is given as 0.580 kg/h/kgf. Two different models of BAYRAKTAR UCAV/MIUS will be produced and the AI-25TLT Turbofan Engine will be used in the UCAV/MIUS-A model, while the UCAV/MIUS-B model will be powered by the AI-322F Turbofan Engine. The first flight of the BAYRAKTAR UCAV/MIUS is planned to be realized in 2023.
On the same day, BAYKAR signed the MS-500V-S Turboprop Engine Technical Specification Agreement with Motor Sich Company for the BAYRAKTAR AKINCI UCAV. General Manager Haluk BAYRAKTAR signed the agreement on behalf of BAYKAR and Pavlo KASAI, Marketing and Sales Manager on behalf of Motor Sich. Delivering a speech at the ceremony, BAYRAKTAR said that they created an alternative for AKINCI with the MS500 engine and that the engine would be integrated into the platform. Stating that the MS500 is a state-of-the-art technology engine like the AI-450, BAYRAKTAR mentioned that the engine will power AKINCI in 2022 with the close cooperation between the two companies. Motor Sich JSC Marketing and Sales Manager KASAI said that with the agreements signed, the security and power of both countries increased in addition to the cooperation between them. KASAI said, “I hereby guarantee that the engines will be delivered on time and will perform well.”
The MS-500V-S Turboprop Engine, which is expected to be used in the new version of the AKINCI UCAV equipped with heavy weapons and payloads, can produce a maximum power of 1,050 hp (772 kW) during take-off at temperatures up to 22°C. In the meantime, Ivchenko Progress (affiliated to Ukroboronprom, the umbrella management company of Ukrainian defense industry companies) ordered 30 Al-450T Al-450T Turboprop Engines at a total cost of US$ 7.09 million to Motor Sich 2021 Q4 to be used in the AKINCI Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV). According to the product brochure, the AI-450T Turboprop Engine can produce a maximum thrust of 495 hp at 20°C air temperature in case of emergency, and 450 hp at take-off up to 30°C air temperature. While the SFC value is 0.277 kg/h/hp during take-off, this value is 0.280 kg/h/hp at 3,000 m and 0.252 kg/h/hp at 6,000 m altitude. The AI-450T Engine, the dry weight of which is given as 157 kg, can produce 280 hp at an altitude of 3,000 m and 210 hp at an altitude of 6,000 m. The ordered engines are scheduled to be delivered to Ivcenko Progress by the end of 2022. Within the framework of the agreement signed in September 2021 during TeknoFest 2021 in Istanbul, the engines will be delivered to BAYKAR later for use on AKINCI UCAVs. It has been claimed in the Ukrainian media that Ukraine will deliver more than 500 engines of different types to BAYKAR between 2021-2030 and the total sale value will be over US$ 600 million.
CATS Order for BAYRAKTAR TB2 A/UAV
Within the scope of the SAHA EXPO 2021 Fair, a contract was signed between BAYKAR and ASELSAN on November 12, 2021, for the delivery of the updated configuration of the ASELSAN CATS Electro-Optical (EO) Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Targeting System to be used in BAYRAKTAR TB2 A/UAVs. The updated configuration of the CATS EO Sensor Systems (also known as CATS-II) to be supplied will be installed on BAYRAKTAR TB2 A/UAVs to be used within the country.
In his speech at the ceremony, SAHA Istanbul Chairman of the Board and BAYKAR General Manager Haluk BAYRAKTAR pointed to the fact that the camera module is among the most critical payload components of A/UAVs and thanked those who contributed to the development of CATS.
BAYRAKTAR stated that after the successful performance of the A-UAVs within the scope of the Second Karabakh Operation, they faced an embargo for the systems previously supplied from Canada (CMX-15D) and said, “ASELSAN cameras were integrated in a period of 1 month and these cameras were both used in our country and exported to 5 countries. Sometimes, what we see as unpleasant ends up with good results, in favor of our country. Hopefully, we will continue to further develop and improve these systems and reveal the best technologies in the world. Such products will be rendered exportable not only with the A-UAVs, but also on their own.”
Expressing that CATS was developed by ASELSAN with intense work as part of the project initiated by the SSB ASELSAN Chairman of the Board, President & CEO Prof. Haluk GÖRGÜN stated these should be tested on the platform and in the field and need to prove their competence. “The BAYKAR Family deserves special thanks. They trusted the camera developed by ASELSAN and rendered it usable in the field. Serious efforts have been made. The Presidency of Defense Industries has supported the development of this, our colleagues working in the relevant departments and Turkish officers have contributed greatly. Together, we joined our forces in an area that our country needs, and such a product was developed. At the point we have reached, we export a product that was not provided to us. This is truly a success story.” Following the signing of the contract, BAYRAKTAR and GÖRGÜN presented each other with CATS and BAYRAKTAR TB2 models to commemorate the day.
Defense Industry President İsmail DEMİR pointed out that they accelerated the strengthening of the CATS FLIR payload after the embargoes for the EO Sensor System that entered service of Gendarmerie and the General Directorate of Security in May 2021.
The basic problems of ASELSAN CATS, such as image stabilization, vibration in laser marking, and image quality, which were previously mentioned in the press, have been resolved, and it was exhibited for the first time at the BAYKAR Booth at the TeknoFest 2021 Festival. Although it looks like the first version that was delivered in the first half of 2016, in the new configuration, the overall architecture has been changed and the optics have been updated. With CATS in the updated configuration, which is qualified even for altitudes of 30,000ft+, MAM-L munition can be supported with great precision up to a range of 17km. The updated configuration of CATS (also known as CATS-II) EO Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Targeting System, the mass production of which was initiated, is still operational and serves both in homeland and abroad on the BAYKAR product BAYRAKTAR TB2 A-UAV. The BAYRAKTAR TB2 A-UAV can fly with 4 MAM-L and ASELSAN CATS FLIR payload when an intense offensive mission is to be conducted
