The fourth edition of the Egypt Defence Expo, known as EDEX 2025, opened its doors on December 1 in Cairo under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. This biennial event draws over 450 exhibitors from more than 40 countries and expects around 40,000 visitors, including military delegations and industry leaders.
Organisers from the Egyptian Armament Authority highlight the expo’s role in fostering partnerships across Africa and the Middle East, with a clear emphasis on technology transfer and domestic manufacturing. Turkish firm HAVELSAN, a key participant among 80 Turkish companies, uses the platform to showcase its systems while pushing joint production initiatives tailored to regional needs.
HAVELSAN, established in 1982, is one of Türkiye’s leading defense and advanced technology companies. As a subsidiary of the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV), HAVELSAN develops innovative, national, and smart solutions tailored to the needs of defence, public, and private sectors.The company develops command-and-control systems, autonomous platforms, simulation tools, and cybersecurity measures.
At EDEX 2025, HAVELSAN presents innovations in artificial intelligence-driven defence systems, command-and-control architectures, unmanned ground vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, simulation environments, and networked battlefield setups. These offerings support digital transformation efforts and enhance autonomous operations for partner forces.
Vice President Şevket Ünal, responsible for international business development at HAVELSAN, addressed the expo’s delegations on the company’s priorities in Africa. Ünal stressed that effective partnerships require more than equipment sales; they demand models that build local expertise from the outset. “Demonstrating long-term and effective presence on the continent is not possible by simply delivering systems,” Ünal told Military Africa in a November 2025 interview.
“For this reason, HAVELSAN’s approach is to consider from the very beginning models that will develop countries’ own labour skills and infrastructure capacity. We offer solutions tailored to needs at every point, from establishing maintenance plans to joint training programs.” This strategy matches the sustainability and operational independence goals often voiced by African defence ministries.
HAVELSAN’s booth at EDEX, located in Hall H3, features integrated land, air, and naval defence technologies, autonomous unmanned platforms, simulation and training Technologies and ICT technologies. Attendees can view demonstrations of unmanned systems like the BARKAN unmanned ground vehicle and BAHA vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle. These platforms integrate with broader command systems for real-time data sharing, a critical feature for multi-domain operations.
The company’s ADVENT combat management system, now in service across seven nations, including recent African adopters, coordinates sensors and effectors on naval vessels to improve situational awareness. Engineers designed ADVENT with modular software that allows upgrades without full hardware overhauls, balancing cost and adaptability for budget-constrained fleets.
The expo provides HAVELSAN a stage to deepen ties with Egypt, where recent agreements form the backbone of its African expansion. In March 2025, HAVELSAN signed a pact with Egypt’s Kader Factory for Developed Industries, part of the Arab Organisation for Industrialisation (AOI). This deal enables local assembly of unmanned ground vehicles under Turkish licensing and technical oversight. Production occurs at Kader’s Cairo facilities, drawing on HAVELSAN’s designs like BARKAN, a tracked robot weighing 450 kilograms with a 10-hour battery life for reconnaissance and logistics in rough terrain. BARKAN’s modular payload bay accepts cameras, jammers, or light arms, offering flexibility but requiring careful integration to avoid weight penalties that cut endurance.
Ünal described the arrangement as a blend of technology handover and knowledge exchange, noting it strengthens both nations’ capabilities. Turkish Ambassador to Egypt Salih Mutlu Şencalled Kader a benchmark facility for quality, predicting sustained collaboration. Verified as active on December 4, 2025, this project advances prototype development ahead of full-scale output. Building on that momentum, HAVELSAN and AOI formalised a second agreement on August 26, 2025, for joint unmanned aerial vehicle production.
The pact targets vertical take-off and landing models, including HAVELSAN’s BAHA and BULUT, both of which were inducted into Turkish service earlier in 2025. BAHA, a 12-kilogram fixed-wing drone with a 6-hour flight time on gasoline power, excels in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance over 150 kilometres. Its electric variant trades range for quieter operations in urban settings, a trade-off that suits African border patrols but demands robust ground stations for control handover. BULUT adds swarm capabilities for coordinated strikes, processing data via onboard AI to autonomously prioritise threats. Assembly happens at Kader, with Turkish engineers guiding workflows to localise 70 per cent of components within two years. AOI Chairman Major General Mokhtar Abdellatif emphasised the deal’s fit with Egypt’s Vision 2030 for self-reliance, aiming to supply regional exports. HAVELSAN CEO Mehmet Akif Nacar echoed this, stating the partnership boosts local capacity while opening African markets to affordable, proven tech. The agreement remains on track as of December 4, 2025, with initial units slated for testing in early 2026. These pacts yield tangible results at EDEX 2025. Egypt unveiled the Hamza-1, a gasoline-powered BAHA derivative with a 6-hour endurance and electro-optical sensors for real-time video feeds. The drone identifies enemy movements and relays imagery, supporting missions in expansive African theatres where manned flights risk pilot exposure. Complementing it, the Scorpion unmanned ground vehicle debuted here, a fully electric platform distinct from BARKAN but co-developed with HAVELSAN.
At 500 kilograms, Scorpion mounts a 12.7-millimetre remote turret, infrared cameras, and a laser rangefinder for patrols or fire support in high-threat zones. Its remote launch system minimises crew risk, though operators must manage battery limits during extended ops, often resolved by modular solar chargers. Both systems drew crowds, signalling Egypt’s quick prototyping under Turkish guidance. Beyond hardware, HAVELSAN integrates AI across its lineup to address operational bottlenecks.
At IDEF 2025 in July, Ünal outlined how AI is embedded in multi-domain architectures for predictive analytics, such as forecasting UGV routes based on terrain data. This reduces human error in command loops but introduces cybersecurity vulnerabilities, mitigated by HAVELSAN’s layered encryption protocols. For Africa, where vast borders strain resources, these tools enable unmanned fleets to cover more ground with fewer personnel. Ünal noted in his Military Africa discussion that early ADVENT installs in African navies refined integrations for diverse sensor feeds, ensuring platforms “speak a common data language.” Such adaptations prioritise interoperability over bespoke designs, easing maintenance in remote bases.
HAVELSAN’s broader African footprint includes exports to nations like Nigeria, where BAHA drones and ADVENT systems enhance maritime patrols against piracy. The company pursues similar deals in Rwanda, Kenya, and Senegal, focusing on simulation trainers that cut live-fire costs by 40 per cent through virtual scenarios. Ünalexplained that short-term readiness comes from rapid setups, but self-sufficiency demands ongoing training: “While HAVELSAN establishes systems that enable countries to achieve rapid operational readiness in the short term, our long-term focus is on building a structure that allows them to become self-sufficient.” This dual-track model aligns with continental priorities for cost-effective security, as unmanned assets lower personnel demands in expansive geographies. EDEX 2025 underscores HAVELSAN’s pivot toward collaborative ecosystems. By embedding technology transfer in every deal, the firm not only sells solutions butcultivates partners capable of evolving them. As Ünal put it, “Different dynamics can be on the table for cooperation models as well,” hinting at expansions into cyber defenceor joint R&D. With prototypes like Hamza-1 rolling out, HAVELSAN positions Africa as a testing ground for resilient, homegrown defence tech. The expo’s deals, including AOI’s separate pacts with global players, reinforce Cairo’s hub status, where Turkish ingenuity meets Egyptian scale to serve the continent.