From swarm drone attacks on an Aegean mountainside to AI-driven unmanned ground vehicles and a naval combat management ecosystem that spans sea, air and cyber — the EFES-2026 exercise was less a military drill and more a national capability demonstration. Here is what it revealed, and what Africa should take note of.
In a freezing Wednesday night on an Aegean mountainside, the sky above Doğanbey lit up with the thunder of Turkish artillery, the sharp buzz of swarming drones, and the flash of laser-guided munitions finding their marks. It was the opening act of EFES-2026 — and the start of two extraordinary days that made the case, emphatically, for Turkey’s arrival as a fully integrated, self-sufficient defence industrial power.
What unfolded across this rugged terrain was not simply a military exercise. It was the validation, in live-fire conditions and before the eyes of delegations from fifty nations, of a defence ecosystem that Turkey has spent decades building — one that now spans precision missiles, autonomous ground vehicles, naval combat management systems, electronic warfare, loitering munitions and warship construction, with an indigenisation rate that has climbed from near-zero to world-class in a single generation.
The EFES-2026 Combined Joint Live-Fire Exercise, one of the largest planned exercises of the Turkish Armed Forces, was conducted between April 11 and May 22 in the Gulf of İzmir and the Doğanbey Live-Fire Exercise Area. It was conducted in two phases: the first from April 11–17 as a Computer-Aided Command Post Exercise, and the second from April 20 to May 21 as the Live-Fire Field Exercise. The exercise encompassed operations across Western Anatolia, Central Aegean, İstanbul, and the Gulf of İzmir — a multi-domain, multi-environment undertaking of considerable complexity.
The objectives of the exercise included enhancing the combat readiness of the land, naval, and air forces in joint operations, raising cyber defence awareness, and improving capabilities to counter asymmetric threats.
An Exercise of Scale and Strategic Signal
The attendance roster alone conveyed a message. A total of 10,388 personnel participated in EFES-2026, including 1,305 guest personnel representing fifty countries — a list that spanned NATO allies, Eurasian partners, Asian military powers, and a significant cohort of African nations. The breadth of participation was not accidental. Turkey was not merely conducting a readiness exercise; it was hosting a showcase.
Participating Nations — 50 Countries
Albania, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Guinea, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mongolia, Netherlands, Niger, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, UAE, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Twelve of those nations were African. Their presence — from Senegal and Guinea in the west to Somalia and Tanzania in the east, and Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe in the interior — underscores the growing strategic relationship between Turkey and the African continent, a relationship increasingly being expressed in the language of defence cooperation and arms procurement.
The Night Phase: A New Paradigm in Autonomous Combat
Night Operations — Scenario Report
Swarms, Electronic Warfare and the Kill Chain of Tomorrow
The night phase of the exercise commenced with the neutralization of an opposing force's mobile communications centre equipped with electronic warfare systems — achieved through the coordinated employment of swarm drones operating in concert, demonstrating a kill chain that was almost entirely autonomous from detection to strike.
The hostile mobile communications node was first detected by a Bayraktar AKINCI Armed UAV equipped with the ASELSAN ANTIDOT Electronic Warfare Pod alongside supporting sensor systems. Following target detection, multiple kamikaze swarm drones approached the target simultaneously from different altitudes and directions before striking the designated objective. The attack package included the domestically developed SKYDAGGER, SİVRİSİNEK, KALKAN and K-2 swarm drones.
Subsequently, a second wave of swarm drones — including STM-produced KARGU loitering munitions operating in swarm configuration — was employed to neutralize surviving elements and mobile systems within the target area. Battle damage assessment was conducted through data transferred to the KOCATEPE Command and Control System. It was, in the truest sense, a glimpse of future warfare: networked, autonomous, lethal, and fast.
The Industrial Ecosystem Behind the Exercise
The bombed-out mountainside tells a story of transformation. Powering the firepower on display was not a collection of foreign-supplied platforms but a dense industrial ecosystem — ASFAT, ASELSAN, HAVELSAN, MKE, ROKETSAN, STM, Canik, Salmaz, and others — that has turned Turkey into one of the world’s most self-sufficient defence producers. These are not loosely connected contractors; they are an integrated national system.
ASELSAN and MKE are significant institutional shareholders in ROKETSAN. HAVELSAN provides the software backbone that integrates platforms produced by the others. A typical major Turkish military project involves MKE providing the artillery or munitions, ASELSAN supplying the radar and fire-control electronics, HAVELSAN integrating the software and combat management networks, and ROKETSAN manufacturing the missiles. All five consistently rank among the top defence companies globally. All five operate under the umbrella of the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TSKGV) or the Ministry of National Defense.
Key indigenous systems demonstrated at EFES-2026
| GÖKBEY Utility Helicopter | AKINCI Armed UAV | KARGU Loitering Munition | HİSAR-A/O Air & Missile Defence |
| SİPER Long-Range Air Defence | PANTER 8×8 Self-Propelled Howitzer | UMTAS Long-Range Anti-Tank | KARAOK Short-Range Anti-Tank |
| ASLAN Unmanned Ground Vehicle | ALKA Laser Weapon System | KORKUT Self-Propelled AA Gun | TAYFUN Ballistic Missile |
Company by Company: What EFES Revealed
ASFAT: Military Factory and Shipyard Management Inc.
ASFAT used EFES-2026 as the platform for two significant unveilings. The first was the KARAVU UAV Hunter — a new interceptor drone designed specifically to counter enemy UAVs and FPV drones that was officially debuted at the exercise. Built from carbon fibre, the KARAVU features an X-configuration short delta wing design, achieves a maximum speed of 400 km/h, and deploys a specialised explosive mechanism using 25 grams of C4 to produce a 360-degree fragmentation effect on target. In an era when cheap FPV drones are rewriting infantry warfare, a dedicated high-speed interceptor of this kind represents a significant capability development.
The second major exhibit was the PANTER 8×8 Howitzer — an indigenous wheeled self-propelled howitzer deployed in live-fire operations during the exercise. The PANTER features an advanced fire control system, a 675-horsepower engine, and a 155mm/52-calibre barrel equipped with a stabilisation-assisted levelling system. Its performance in the live-fire phase attracted considerable attention from international delegations.
MKE: Mechanical and Chemical Industries Company — Turkey’s oldest defence institution
The General Manager of MKE, Engineer Ilhami Keleş, described the exercise with characteristic directness when speaking to assembled media. For MKE, EFES-2026 was, in his words, “the harvest season.” He was not being figurative: “Every sound and every light heard or seen in the exercise field is produced by MKE.” The bombs used by the Turkish Air Force throughout the exercise were entirely MKE-produced, as were the weapons and ammunition deployed by the attack helicopters.
Keleş also provided rare insight into MKE’s trajectory — detailing a major leap in defence exports in recent years and outlining a five-year strategic transformation plan designed to reshape the institution. In a further development revealed during EFES-2026, MKE announced it will add a High-Power Electromagnetic (HPeM) weapon as a supporting effector to its TOLGA Counter-UAS system — a platform already comprising a broad array of effectors designed for different engagement ranges. The integration of directed energy into the TOLGA family signals MKE’s ambition to own the full spectrum of counter-drone response.
ROKETSAN: Missiles, Guided Rockets & Precision Munitions
Roketsan’s presence at EFES-2026 was dual-track — operational deployment in the field exercise, and a dedicated pavilion at the accompanying defence exhibition — and the company made the most of both. A number of Roketsan systems were employed during the tactical scenarios, with the KARAOK short-range anti-tank missile making its first appearance in an exercise of this scale, marking a notable milestone for the system.
Other systems deployed in the manoeuvre included the SUNGUR short-range air defence system, the TEBER precision guidance kit, the MAM-T miniature smart munition, and the UMTAS long-range anti-tank guided missile. In the pavilion, more than twenty advanced defence systems were on display across every major combat category — anti-armour, air defence, naval, cruise missiles, and loitering munitions.
“At Roketsan, we have continued to enhance our army’s capabilities through our strategic products and next-generation technologies. The company has become a global brand in the field of missiles and ammunition, and its systems proved their field superiority during Efes.”
— Murat Ekinci, General Manager, Roketsan
Ekinci confirmed that Roketsan’s pavilion received military delegations from more than thirty countries, reflecting the depth of international interest in Turkish missile technology. The full display at the pavilion ranged from the MAM-C, MAM-L and MAM-T miniaturised smart munitions, through the CIRIT laser-guided missile and the ÇAKIR and KARA ATMACA surface-to-surface cruise missiles, to the SIPER long-range air and missile defence system — the upper layer of Turkey’s multi-layered national air defence architecture. Naval systems were also present: the new-generation ORKA light torpedo, the heavy AKYA torpedo, and the Girit anti-drone missile from the PUSU system rounded out a comprehensive showcase.
STM: Defence Technologies Engineering — Turkey’s largest naval engineering company
STM General Manager Özgür Gülruyüz revealed to the media one of the more remarkable operational data points of the entire exercise: twenty KARGU loitering munitions were operated simultaneously with a single trigger activation. The KARGU, a rotary-wing loitering munition now fielded in some fifteen countries across four continents, was at the centre of the night phase’s swarm drone sequence — and its single-trigger, multi-unit deployment capability demonstrated an autonomy level that will interest every military planner watching.
What makes STM’s business model particularly instructive for African partners is the shipbuilding dimension. As Gülruyüz explained, STM is the largest warship builder in Turkey without owning a single shipyard. The company is currently building approximately fifteen ships simultaneously across eleven Turkish shipyards — and has raised the local content of its naval products from 25–30% in early programmes to 80–85% today. More significantly, STM is now guiding and providing engineering support to companies in customer countries to manufacture systems integrated into STM platforms, or to design platforms built locally in those countries. That is a technology transfer and industrial development model of considerable relevance to Africa’s ambitions.
HAVELSAN: Defence Software, Command & Control, Simulation
If ROKETSAN provided the lethal edge and MKE the ammunition, HAVELSAN provided the brain. Turkey’s leading defence software and technologies company participated in EFES-2026 with both operationally deployed systems and a range of simulation and command and control capabilities — making visible the connective tissue that holds Turkey’s multi-domain military machine together.
The BERTUĞ Wargame System was used during the Simulation-Supported Command Post Phase of the exercise. Designed for computer-assisted exercises, operational analysis, and decision-support, BERTUĞ enabled multi-domain operational scenarios spanning land, air, naval, cyber and space domains to be evaluated within a common simulation environment. The system supported the planning, preparation, and execution phases throughout.
In the field, HAVELSAN demonstrated the AICCS Air Force Command and Control Information System and the ADVENT Naval Combat Management System — including underwater warfare capabilities — contributing to real-time coordination and data exchange across land, air, and naval elements. ADVENT MARTI, an airborne command and control solution designed for special mission aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial platforms, extended ADVENT’s network-enabled operational capability into the air domain.
The BARKAN-2 Unmanned Ground Vehicle was actively deployed in the live exercise environment, performing in casualty evacuation scenarios. Featuring a Ground Surveillance Radar for improved target detection in low-visibility environments, BARKAN-2 demonstrated operational capability under demanding field conditions. HAVELSAN also confirmed development is underway on the next-generation BARKAN-3, which features a modular mission architecture, operational capability in GNSS-denied environments, and an AI-supported multi-sensor infrastructure.
At the exhibition, this correspondent tested the HAVELSAN AR/VR war gaming simulator firsthand — an immersive, high-fidelity environment that speaks to the increasing convergence of simulation and operational planning in modern defence.
“For HAVELSAN, EFES 2026 represented not only a platform where technologies were exhibited, but also an operational environment where simulation infrastructures, command and control systems, and actively deployed platforms developed over the years were demonstrated together under realistic exercise conditions.”
— HAVELSAN Official Statement, May 2026
Aselsan: Multidomain Technology Powerhouse
During the EFES-2026 military exercise, Turkish defense giant ASELSAN deployed more than 30 advanced, domestically produced defense systems, showcasing its capabilities across air defense, electronic warfare, digital battlefield management, and autonomous systems. Many of these technologies were actively integrated and field-tested for the first time in a live multinational combat environment.
For the first time, ASELSAN, in collaboration with domestic partners like Roketsan and TÜBİTAK SAGE, fully field-tested and deployed its integrated, multi-layered air and missile defense architecture known as the Steel Dome (Çelik Kubbe).
Overlooking the Aegean Sea at the Doğanbey live-fire area, ASELSAN showcased more than 30 advanced tactical and autonomous systems to over 50 international military delegations. The exercise demonstrated a fully unified, software-defined network that eliminates reliance on foreign defense integrators.
The Steel Dome is an artificial intelligence-driven, network-centric air defense shield designed to safeguard Türkiye’s entire airspace. Rather than acting as a singular standalone weapon, it serves as an overarching, multi-layered framework that fuses multiple radar, sensor, electronic warfare, and weapon systems into a single operational picture.
Lessons for Africa: The Integrated Model as the Template
For the twelve African nations in attendance — and for the broader community of African defence planners — EFES-2026 carries lessons that go well beyond the impressive hardware on display. What Turkey has built is not a collection of capable companies; it is a system. The integration between ASELSAN’s electronics, ROKETSAN’s missiles, MKE’s munitions, HAVELSAN’s software, and STM’s naval engineering means that Turkey can develop, produce, test, and export a complete military capability stack without dependence on foreign supply chains or political conditionality.
That is precisely the aspiration of many African states as they seek to build sovereign defence capacity. Turkey’s model — state-backed anchor institutions, progressive indigenisation targets, systematic technology transfer to partner countries, and joint production frameworks — offers a more accessible template than the Western or Russian models, both of which come freighted with geopolitical preconditions.
STM’s approach to shipbuilding is perhaps the clearest articulation of this: engineering support flows into partner countries, local content rises over successive programmes, and the partner nation eventually builds capability it owns. The same logic can apply to vehicle production, communications systems, drone manufacturing, and ammunition — if the political will and industrial policy framework exists on the African side to meet it.
EFES-2026 was, ultimately, a declaration — not merely of Turkish military readiness, but of a defence industrial model that has reached maturity. The mountainside at Doğanbey will take time to recover. The impression left on the fifty nations who witnessed what happened there will last considerably longer.
IMAGES FROM EFES-2026
