Various events have been organised on Friday under the auspices of Türkiye’s Teknofest Blue Homeland, the world’s largest aerospace and technology festival’s maritime edition, being held at Istanbul Naval Shipyard.
The festival features forums and competitions on cutting-edge naval and underwater technologies.
The festival began on Thursday, the public will be able to attend on August 30–31.
Under the event’s umbrella, the “Naval Defence Industry Artificial Intelligence Forum” was held, where Turkish Navy officers highlighted AI applications in threat detection, electronic warfare, and decision-support systems.”
Officials stressed AI’s role in early threat recognition, asymmetric warfare response, and reducing operator workload, with projects focusing on augmented intelligence and anomaly detection to enhance maritime situational awareness.
Moreover, the Unmanned Underwater Systems Competition was also organised under Aselsan’s coordination for the eighth time this year.
Out of 2,351 applicants, 42 finalist teams are competing in missions such as rescuing the historic submarine Dumlupinar, tracking underwater cables, and searching for lost treasures. Winners will receive prizes of up to $6,113 (250,000 TL), along with special awards for design, software, and team spirit.
Competitors emphasised the importance of developing indigenous technologies for Türkiye’s “Blue Homeland” vision, noting challenges of underwater engineering and the significance of advancing domestic maritime capabilities.
Teknofest Blue Homeland runs through August 31, with contests in unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned surface vehicles, and underwater rockets—drawing nearly 2,700 team applications in total.
