HAVELSAN and Egypt’s AOI Ink Sales Agreement for Co-Produced HAMZA-1 VTOL UAV

At the El Alamein International Aviation Exhibition 2026, Turkish defense giant HAVELSAN and Egypt’s Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) formally entered into a sales agreement for the HAMZA-1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). This landmark deal signifies a critical advancement in their collaborative efforts within the autonomous systems domain.

The signing of this sales contract builds upon a strategic cooperation framework established between the two entities on August 26, 2025. That foundational agreement outlined the joint production of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capable autonomous unmanned aircraft systems within Egypt, marking a significant step towards localized defense manufacturing.

The HAMZA-1 project stands as a testament to HAVELSAN’s extensive engineering and technological expertise in autonomous platforms, representing a key example of successful international collaboration. HAVELSAN’s rich heritage in developing diverse UAV platforms, including BAHA, BOZBEY, POYRAZ, and BULUT for various mission profiles, directly feeds into the HAMZA-1 program, synergizing its advanced technology with Egypt’s local industrial production capabilities.

The initial HAMZA-1 system was publicly unveiled in December 2025 during the EDEX 2025 defense exhibition held in Cairo, showcasing the early fruits of this robust partnership. The HAMZA-1 is specifically engineered for critical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, in addition to supporting artillery target acquisition tasks, leveraging its versatile VTOL functionality.

Complementing the HAMZA-1, the same Turkish-Egyptian cooperation also yielded the AQRAB unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), equipped with a remote-controlled launch platform, which was also displayed at EDEX 2025.

The recent sales agreement at the El Alamein Aviation Exhibition marks the HAMZA-1 program’s transition from joint development and production into a full commercial phase. This strategic integration of HAVELSAN’s cutting-edge autonomous system technologies with AOI’s robust local manufacturing infrastructure is set to introduce a tangible, market-ready defense product to the international arena. Deliveries of the HAMZA-1 are anticipated to commence in the near future.

Beyond its immediate commercial implications, the HAMZA-1 program underscores the deepening defense technology cooperation between Türkiye and Egypt, while simultaneously highlighting HAVELSAN’s strategic approach to international co-production and technology localization initiatives.