The endenisation project carried out by the Turkish defence industry in the field of military maritime will achieve export success in its first mission. STM Defence Technologies Engineering and Trade Inc. carries out critical endenisation and nationalization activities in this field with the military maritime projects it leads in the Turkish defence industry. In this context, the Helicopter Visual Landing Support Lighting System (HEGİDAS), which is used in surface warships and has been procured from abroad until now, was brought to Türkiye through endenisation efforts.
Developed jointly by STM and Berkin Savunma Sanayi Mühendislik Ticaret AŞ, HEGİDAS can be used in all military surface platforms, especially the National Ship Project MİLGEM. STM will integrate the HEGİDAS system into two corvettes as part of an export project it is currently conducting. Thus, for the first time, the HEGİDAS system developed by a domestic company using national resources will also achieve export success.
The eyes and ears of helicopter pilots
HEGIDAS, which consists of visual guidance and flight deck lighting equipment, and includes software that enables the system equipment to operate in the appropriate configuration, plays a critical role for pilots to safely approach and land the helicopter on board.
With HEGIDAS, helicopters can safely land on board during both day and night operations. HEGIDAS, which allows pilots to operate safely at night when visibility conditions are not suitable, minimizes pilot workload. HEGİDAS can be used on all military surface platforms, including corvettes, frigates, logistics support or tanker vessels with helicopter platforms.
Indigenousnessis rising step by step
Özgür Güleryüz, General Manager of STM, told AA correspondent that as a company, their biggest motivation in all kinds of activities they carried out under the leadership of the Presidency of Defence Industries was “to ensure fully independent Türkiye in defence”.
Stating that as Türkiye’s leading company in the military maritime sector, they focused on increasing local competencies, especially starting with building, Güleryüz emphasized that they aimed to increase the indigenousness competencies in vessels and platforms step by step. Explaining that they had endenised some systems that could not be purchased due to the embargo, and some systems that could face the risk of embargo in the future, Güleryüz said that they had put some systems on the agenda for endenisation because they caused foreign currency outflows despite being procured from abroad.
Smiley said: “Our aim is both to increase our engineering competencies and to prevent the outflow of foreign currency abroad and, on the contrary, to ensure foreign currency inflow in our country, perhaps with exports. HEGIDAS is one of these systems. A lighting system that will enable the helicopter to land safely on board and support visual landing. In particular, it consists of lighting systems placed on the platform. It is an advanced engineering system that allows the helicopter to both see the platform and give it certain directions. Until today, we were procuring it from abroad. We, as STM, developed this jointly with our local companies. I hope we would be able to use it on our next platforms.”
Competitive against equivalent products
Stating that the system would enable pilots to land safely on board, especially in difficult sea conditions, Güleryüz said that the development process of HEGİDAS had been completed and that it would start to be integrated into platforms. Pointing out that HEGİDAS would be used in export projects and MİLGEM ships 6, 7 and 8, Güleryüz said: “Our aim is to make our companies more efficient on the one hand. We want to grow together with our ecosystem. Because the stronger the companies in our ecosystem become in terms of engineering and muscle power, the stronger we become. We think that we have brought HEGIDAS to our country in this sense. From now on, a system that can be integrated into all vessels that include a helicopter platform, and that can compete very easily with its foreign competitors, has been developed.”
Özgür Güleryüz said that companies that achieve this capability could easily compete abroad with their products and carry their products to different platforms. Güleryüz said that they would start using HEGİDAS for the first time in the corvettes they would export abroad, and that more would follow.
Source:: Indigenized for National Warships, First Mission is Export
