Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited a naval facility on September 6 to inspect newly established local production lines for unmanned surface vessels developed in cooperation with Turkey’s Dearsan Shipyard.
The manufacturing initiative is operated jointly by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense-linked MIRAS Military-Industrial Company and Dearsan, marking a formal shift from simply operating Turkish-built naval platforms to producing them locally. The program expands the defense-industrial relationship between Baku and Ankara, building on prior military cooperation and previous displays of Turkish-built platforms in the Caspian Sea, as reported on the official website of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The SALVO is a 15-meter composite hull armed unmanned surface vessel capable of speeds up to 60 knots with an operational range of 300 nautical miles from its controllers. Designed for reconnaissance, surface warfare, facility patrol, and armed escort missions, the platform features a remote turret equipped with a Roketsan Cirit 70mm laser-guided missile and a stabilized 12.7mm machine gun manufactured by Aselsan. Azerbaijan previously displayed a Turkish-built variant during a Caspian Sea live-fire exercise in August 2025.
Complementing the armed platform, the KAYRA is a smaller, purpose-built system measuring approximately 7 meters in length with a composite hull. According to manufacturer specifications, it achieves a top speed of 50 knots and an operational range of roughly 200 nautical miles. Rather than carrying modular weapon turrets, the KAYRA operates as a one-way attack vessel packed with an internal warhead, engineered to ram and destroy enemy vessels, patrol craft, port infrastructure, and naval bases directly. While Azerbaijan has previously introduced smaller indigenous kamikaze drone boats such as the Kalan and Sugovushan models at local defense exhibitions, the incorporation of the SALVO and KAYRA systems significantly enhances the operational capabilities of the Azerbaijani navy’s uncrewed surface fleet.
