Türkiye's First National Underwater Technology from BAU

Türkiye's first domestic and national submarine optical communication system has been developed through the collaboration of Bahçeşehir University (BAU) and Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret A.Ş. (STM). A protocol was signed with the German defense company HENSOLDT (HOO) for the technology, which will enable voice communication between submarines and divers.

Türkiye's first domestic and national submarine optical communication system brings a new dimension to submarine technology. Communication between submarines and divers, which has so far been possible only with light, will now be possible by voice thanks to this technology. Within the scope of the Presidency of Defense Industries' (SSB) domestic and national technology development policy, a cooperation protocol for the technology was signed with Germany's HENSOLDT, one of the world's leading defense companies, at the EURONAVAL 2018 maritime exhibition in Paris. The 'Optical Communication System between Submarines and Divers' developed by STM and BAU will be integrated into HENSOLDT's Optical Surveillance System. This collaboration will enable the development of a system with no equivalent in the world, allowing communication between submarines and divers underwater. HENSOLDT's 'Optical Surveillance System' provides 360-degree surveillance for submarines and includes various camera configurations. Given the challenges of submarine design, integrating the submarine optical communication system developed by STM-BAU into this optical surveillance system will be an application requiring special engineering and high technology.

"We aim to give new momentum to the world's underwater technology"

Stating that they have been conducting studies on defense industry technologies with their R&D units for 11 years, BAU President Prof. Dr. Şenay Yalçın said: "This project, one of the products of these studies, has now begun to bear fruit. The most important duty of universities towards their countries is to turn the knowledge they produce into products and create added value accordingly. In this respect, we are very happy both to have implemented this project together with the Presidency of Defense Industries and to have signed an agreement to export it to a technology giant such as Germany. Developing this technology is a source of pride for us as a university. Our collaboration with STM, aiming to contribute to exports, will pave the way for the further development of this product group. The project also aims to contribute to security in military communication by developing optical communication systems. In addition, being the only Turkish university at the EURONAVAL 2018 maritime exhibition was exciting for us. With the protocol we signed with HENSOLDT, we aim to give new momentum to the world's underwater technology."

"It will enable the development of a system with no equivalent in the world"

STM General Manager Murat İkinci said: "In line with the vision set by the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) for the Turkish defense industry, STM will integrate the Optical Communication System between Submarines and Divers, developed together with Bahçeşehir University, one of our country's distinguished universities, into the Optical Surveillance System being developed by Germany's HENSOLDT, one of the world's leading defense giants. In this context, a memorandum of understanding was signed at the EURONAVAL 2018 naval defense exhibition in Paris. This signature will enable the development of a system with no equivalent in the world, allowing communication between submarines and divers underwater. STM, an affiliate of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) and one of the institutions with the most established military naval experience in Türkiye, has been bringing such critical technologies to Türkiye with its engineering expertise for more than 25 years. Aware of the challenges of submarine design, STM will carry out the integration of this system together with BAU. With this project, our institution takes rightful pride in once again demonstrating the importance it attaches to industry-university collaboration."