Turkey’s flagship aviation and technology festival, Teknofest, has drawn a record number of participants in Istanbul this year, bringing together over 1.1 million contestants while also showcasing the nation’s latest defence innovations.
Co-organised by the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Turkish Technology Team Foundation, the five-day event kicked off on September 17 with a jam-packed schedule that included aircraft displays and students’ technological inventions.
Exhibit showcases Turkey’s defence innovation
One of the festival’s standouts is the Steel Dome air defence pavilion by Turkish defence giant ASELSAN.
Using interactive imaging technologies, visitors were able to experience how the Steel Dome’s multi-layered system reacts to airborne threats.
The display features the Siper system, which is intended to protect cities and vital infrastructure from high-altitude attacks.
Low-altitude defence mechanism, Korkut anti-aircraft gun, and medium-range defence protection, Hisar systems, were also showcased during the exhibit.
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Innovative additions
Additionally, ASELSAN unveiled two innovative additions: Turan, an AI-powered platform that combines many defence layers into a seamless network; and Ejderha, which uses powerful electromagnetic waves to combat swarming drones.
Meanwhile, the TUSAS Engine Industries (TEI) has showcased its homegrown turbofan engine TF6000, along with its afterburner.
“Afterburner means a burner at the rear,” said TEI’s head Mahmut Aksit. “With the afterburner, we are increasing the power of our TF6000 engine to the 10,000-pound thrust class. This is roughly equivalent in horsepower.”
According to Aksit the turbofan engine will be used for unmanned aerial vehicles Turkey’s Anka 3, another homegrown innovation.
Students nationwide join competitions
Beyond defence, the festival’s competition remains a major attraction.
The competitions, which have 58 main categories and 137 sub-categories, offer teams who advance past the preliminary stages over TRY85 million (about USD2 million) in financial support.
The winners will split TRY65 million (about USD1.5 million) in prizes.
Since its inception in 2018, Teknofest has attracted over 11 million visitors. It alternates between Istanbul, other Turkish cities and international venues like Azerbaijan and Turkish Cyprus.
The combination of widespread participation, practical innovation and high-profile defence exhibitions has cemented its status as one of the world’s largest aviation and technology conferences.
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Geoffrey H. Latayan 
Vivien Bernardino