Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense-linked MIRAS and Turkey’s DEARSAN Shipyard are building SALVO and KAYRA unmanned surface vessels on Azerbaijani soil; the move shifts Baku from import to local assembly and testing of larger naval drones.
MIRAS and DEARSAN opened a joint production line in Azerbaijan to build SALVO armed USVs and KAYRA kamikaze USVs showcased to President Ilham Aliyev on Sept. 6, 2026.
Azerbaijan’s move complements its existing smaller, domestically developed kamikaze boats and reflects deeper defense-industry cooperation with Turkey after expanded ties since 2020.
# What happened
Azerbaijan's president visited the country's navy on September 6, 2026, to inspect two unmanned surface vessels now being produced in Azerbaijan through a joint production line run by MIRAS Military-Industrial Company and Turkey's DEARSAN Shipyard. The vessels are the SALVO armed unmanned surface vessel and the KAYRA kamikaze unmanned surface vessel.
# Why it matters
them on Azerbaijani soil. That reduces reliance on foreign deliveries for at least these platforms, supports transfer of production work and testing capacity, and expands the scope of Baku's naval unmanned capabilities beyond the smaller local designs it has shown previously.
# What the platforms are
• Size and role: SALVO is a Turkish-designed armed unmanned surface vessel with a composite hull around 15 meters (49 feet) long.
• Size and role: KAYRA is a smaller, one-way attack vessel roughly 7 meters (23 feet) long with a composite hull. It is designed to carry its own warhead and strike by ramming targets.
# What was shown and what remains unclear
Azerbaijan's president and first lady were briefed on the vessels and watched them undergo practical testing at the joint facility. The government statement did not disclose how many units have been built or when full-rate production will start. Details on the exact nature of the recent tests or specific performance outcomes were also not released.
# How this fits with Azerbaijan's existing programs
Azerbaijan has displayed smaller indigenous kamikaze boats such as the Kalan and Sugovushan at a 2024 defense exhibition, but those are considerably smaller than SALVO and KAYRA. The new joint production arrangement broadens Baku's naval unmanned portfolio to include larger, longer-range platforms designed and marketed by a Turkish shipbuilder.
# Strategic and industrial implications
The partnership with DEARSAN follows several years of expanding defense-industrial cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey after Turkey provided military support to Baku in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Producing Turkish-designed USVs domestically strengthens Azerbaijan's ability to field a wider range of naval unmanned systems and to develop workforce and industrial capacity tied to maritime unmanned platforms.
# What to watch next
Azerbaijan has tested two newly developed unmanned surface vessels (USVs), the SALVO armed USV and KAYRA kamikaze USV, during a visit by...
Terra Droneは、防衛装備庁の「迎撃ドローン早期取得プログラム」において、提案した国産迎撃ドローン「Terra B1」が実証試験を通過し、量産段階へ進んだと発表した。
Turkish defense manufacturer FNSS unveiled an unmanned amphibious assault vehicle called U-MAV at the TEKNOFEST Mavi Vatan event in Kocaeli, running August 20 to 23 at the Gölcük Naval Shipyard Command. The 8-ton platform is designed to operate ahead of the Turkish Naval Forces Command’s manned Marine Assault Vehicles,
Украина планирует производить беспилотные летательные аппараты в Финляндии. Это часть военного сотрудничества между странами. «Наши компании подписали документы о разработке и производстве в Финляндии беспилотных летательных аппаратов для нужд Украины и Европы, расширении возможностей в сфере морских беспилотных систем
Latvian unmanned systems manufacturer NEWT21 has completed an EU-funded project to move its FOG and RAY unmanned surface vehicles from prototype to production-ready status, the company announced on Tuesday. The project, formally titled “Modernisation of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) and Preparation of the Productio
Conflict in the Gulf appears to have settled into a long-term war.Since the agreement between Iran and the U.S. on June 15 to negotiate for 60 days on...
Loading more related stories...
Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.