LIMA 2023: Turkish Navy to receive first two USVs during 2023

The Sancar USV on display at LIMA 2023. (Janes/Nishant Kumar)

The Turkish Navy is set to receive at least two unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) by the end of this year, according to Turkish defence companies exhibiting at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2023, held in Langkawi, Malaysia, from 23 to 27 May.

On display at LIMA was the Sancar USV developed by Havelsan in partnership with Turkish shipbuilder Yonca-Onuk. Under a contract awarded in early 2022, the two companies will deliver one Sancar USV to the Turkish Navy in November 2023, Havelsan's research and development (R&D) and platform integration director Deniz Remzi Dumlu confirmed to Janes at the LIMA show.

Sancar has an overall length of 12.7 m and a displacement of 9 tonnes. It has a maximum speed of 40 kt and a cruising range of 400 n mile. The Sancar USV will be used by the Turkish Navy for mine countermeasures (MCM) and will be capable of deploying a towed array sonar (TAS) for mine detection and small unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) for mine classification.

The USV will have dedicated launch and recovery systems for the UUV and TAS. Dumlu declined to comment on the UUV's make and model but confirmed that it is manufactured by a Turkish company. The UUV will be capable of operating at a depth of more than 50 m, he said.

Once delivered, the Sancar USV will be operated from the Turkish Navy's MILGEM corvettes and the landing helicopter dock TCG Anadolu , Dumlu said.