The Rising NATO Ally Shaping the Future of Naval Warfare
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NATO member Turkey is boosting its naval defense capabilities with the development of the Arida-M, an advanced unmanned surface vessel (USV), reflecting the country's response to rising maritime threats and the broader global surge in investment in USV technology.
Newsweek has contacted the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), Turkey's defense procurement authority, for comment.
Why It Matters
Turkey's development of naval drones—which have come to prominence thanks to their use in the Russia-Ukraine war—highlight how it is independently producing and innovating a layered defense system and positioning itself among leading global producers.
The new unmanned surface vessel (USV) is designed to counter kamikaze drone threats to modern navies, as seen in Russian losses in the Black Sea and repeated Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, while retaining offensive capabilities.
An Arida-M is seen in a screengrab from May 2025.
An Arida-M is seen in a screengrab from May 2025.
Anadolu Robotik's X account
What To Know
Unveiled in 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey's Arida-M unmanned surface vessel is designed to autonomously detect and intercept fast kamikaze naval one-mission drones, carrying explosive payloads to neutralize incoming threats before they reach warships or ports, according to defense outlets.
The Arida-M system, developed by Anadolu Robotik Technology, started sea trials in May. It is intended to enhance Turkey's naval defense capabilities against low-cost, high-impact attacks, according to a report on Sunday on the website of The National Interest magazine.
Anadolu Robotik olarak bir dönüm noktasına yaklaşıyoruz!
Türkiye'nin ilk safkan otonom İDA'sı ARİDA-M ile deniz testlerimizi sürdürüyor ve ardından Faz-1'in demonstrasyon aşamasına hazırlanıyoruz.
+50 knot hız kabiliyeti, tam otonom görev yeteneği ve Mavi Vatan'ın güvenliği… pic.twitter.com/vusQMQAXHd — Anadolu Robotik (@AnadoluRobotik) May 3, 2025
Turkey has one of NATO's largest USV programs and is emerging as a strong competitor in the field. Its Marlin SDA naval drone has participated in NATO exercises, and the country signed the first export contract for its ULAQ series with Qatar in 2024.
North America was the largest player in the unmanned surface vehicle market in 2024, according to multiple marketing analysis reports. China, Japan, South Korea and India are also significant contributors to USV production and application, with China commissioning over 200 USVs in recent years and Japan and South Korea developing USVs for commercial applications such as offshore energy exploration and maritime logistics, according to Global Growth Insights.
While American forces have largely contained Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, their greatest concern is China, as the People's Liberation Army Navy deploys drone carriers and conducts simulations testing hybrid manned-unmanned tactics, according to a U.S. Navy report from April.
What People Are Saying
Brandon J. Weichert, senior national security editor at The National Interest wrote on Sunday: "With ongoing tests and phased rollouts, [the Arida-M system] promises to redefine naval security in a world that has been totally upended by asymmetrical forms of warfare."
Ahmet Musab Yildiz, CEO and Co-Founder of Anadolu Robotik told website Naval News in May: "Since 2015, the emergence of kamikaze USVs as an asymmetric threat on the battlefield has revealed the vulnerabilities of existing systems...When we began analyzing the effectiveness of these systems, we concluded that their small size and high speed were key factors that made them difficult to detect and neutralize. This raised the question: why not develop a solution using the capabilities we already possess?"
What Happens Next
Turkey plans operational deployment of the Arida USV by next year.
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