ASELSAN unveiled its new KILIÇ family of autonomous underwater strike systems during SAHA Expo 2026 in Istanbul, with the announcement on 5 May 2026 highlighting Türkiye’s push to expand covert naval attack capabilities in contested maritime environments. The systems strengthen Ankara’s growing focus on distributed and asymmetric naval warfare by giving Turkish forces new options to threaten surface combatants and submarines without exposing crewed platforms to direct risk. The KILIÇ systems are designed for stealth underwater missions, combining autonomous operation with precision strike capability against high-value naval targets in littoral and open-sea scenarios. Their introduction reflects the wider shift toward unmanned maritime combat systems that can extend deterrence, complicate enemy naval defense planning, and support future multi-domain naval operations. Read more.
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| The KILIÇ family appears designed for dispersed employment concepts, including rapid coastal deployment and coordinated swarm operations. (Picture source: Army Recognition) |