ANTALYA, Türkiye, — The Turkish Naval Forces have deployed HAVELSAN’s Barkan unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) during amphibious raid and urban warfare training in the ongoing TURNAs-2026 exercise, using the robotic vehicle to support troop landings and evacuate simulated wounded personnel.
The exercise is taking place in the Gulf of Antalya and the eastern Mediterranean from October 19 to 27, 2026. It focuses on coordinating crewed military platforms with unmanned aerial, surface, underwater and ground systems.
During simulated landing operations, the Barkan moved alongside naval infantry during the initial raid and subsequent urban combat phases. After the simulated fighting ended, the vehicle transported wounded personnel to safety. Exercise imagery also showed the vehicle carrying a stretcher near a landing craft.
TURNAs-2026 Involves Multiple Unmanned Systems
According to figures reported by Anadolu Agency, citing Türkiye’s Ministry of National Defense, the exercise involves 18 ships, 11 aircraft, nine unmanned aerial vehicles, seven unmanned underwater vehicles and nine unmanned surface vessels. A total of 41 systems from 17 Turkish defense companies are participating.
The crewed assets include an amphibious ship, frigates, corvettes, fast attack craft, a submarine, a mine hunter, landing ships and SH-70 helicopters. These are operating alongside unmanned surface vessels, one-way attack boats and Coast Guard vessels.
The Ministry of National Defense has also reported successful unmanned reconnaissance and surveillance in the amphibious target area, suppression of simulated coastal defenses, and amphibious raids combined with urban combat. Exercise imagery identified TCG Anadolu and showed the Barkan transferring a simulated casualty into a landing craft. HAVELSAN-Yonca-built Sancar unmanned surface vessels, including a configuration fitted with a towed sonar, were also seen during the drills.
Barkan UGV Designed for Multiple Missions
Developed by Ankara-based defence company HAVELSAN, the Barkan is a medium-class, wheeled unmanned ground vehicle designed to support military personnel in high-risk operations. It was developed under the company’s Digital Troops concept, which aims to connect unmanned ground, aerial and naval platforms so they can share information and perform coordinated tasks.
The Barkan has a modular design that allows different equipment to be fitted for missions such as reconnaissance, surveillance, casualty evacuation, bomb disposal and battle damage assessment. HAVELSAN lists weapon systems, robotic arms, rescue equipment and swarm capabilities among the platform’s available functions.
The Barkan family entered the Turkish Armed Forces inventory in 2023 and moved into mass production in 2025 following a decision by Türkiye’s Presidency of Defense Industries. In May 2026, HAVELSAN unveiled the Barkan 3 configuration at SAHA Expo in Istanbul under a contract amendment with the Presidency of Defense Industries. The new version is intended to support coordinated operations with unmanned aerial vehicles and surface vessels.
Unmanned Ground Vehicles in Amphibious Operations
The deployment comes as militaries explore ways to use unmanned ground vehicles for landing operations and frontline resupply. Ukraine has reported using unmanned boats to deliver ground robots to combat areas and employing an amphibious unmanned ground vehicle to transport supplies across land and water.
In July 2026, Ukraine’s 123rd Separate Territorial Defense Brigade used an unmanned surface vessel to land an armed ground robot on the Russian-occupied Kinburn Spit. In late September, Ukraine’s 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade also conducted a frontline supply mission using the domestically developed Triton amphibious unmanned ground vehicle, which covered more than 40 kilometers across land and water, according to the supplied information.
The TURNAs-2026 exercise is scheduled to conclude on October 27. No detailed results of the Barkan’s performance during the exercise have been released.
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