STM NETA 300, an unmanned autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) developed by Defense Technologies Engineering and Trade Co AS, exhibited at the SAHA Expo, Turkiye’s flagship defense and aerospace event, organized by the Istanbul Defense and Aerospace Cluster Association (SAHA) in Istanbul, Turkiye on October 22, 2024. (Photo by Serhat Cagdas /Anadolu via Getty Images)

BEIRUT — Turkish shipbuilder STM unveiled today a new unmanned autonomous underwater vehicle (UUV), dubbed STM NETA 300, saying it is the first in what will be a “family of platforms.”

“The first deployment of STM NETA 300 will be for mine detection and destruction missions,” STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz said in a statement from the first day of the SAHA expo in Istanbul.

“The system operates autonomously when deployed for Mine Countermeasure (MCM) Operations, making use of side-scan and gap-filling sonar technologies to identify mines in suspected high-risk areas. This enables the user to classify and identify mines or mine-like objects as quickly and effectively as possible,” the statement specified.

But the company said the STM NETA is expected to perform a number of missions including intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, anti-submarine warfare, explosive disposal, and pipeline and geophysical surveys.

Güleryüz stressed in his statement that the platforms are being developed to fulfil requirements for the Turkish armed forces “with high export potential among friendly and allied nations.”

The company said the UUV has a maximum speed of five knots and can operate at a depth of 300 meters. The system, which can operate for up to 24 hours on a single battery charge, is now in the sea-testing phase. The NETA is a shallow-water vessel, but STM expects to develop medium- and large-sized UUVs to operate deeper in the sea in the future.

In addition to the NETA 300, at the exhibition STM is displaying its Turkish national frigate dubbed TCG Istanbul (F-515), the Ada-Class corvette, as well as models of several of its ships and submarines.

STM has other ongoing export projects, the latest of which is a contract to equip the Malaysian navy with three Littoral Mission Ships. It also has the lion’s share in Turkish national projects. This year it delivered the Istanbul, TCG Derya cargo ship, TCG Lt. Arif Ekmekçi Logistics Support Ship, as well as the armed unmanned surface vessel Marlin.