STM Spearheads High-Stakes Drone Championships and Indigenous Defense Showcase at TEKNOFEST 2026 Şanlıurfa

STM, a pivotal engineering and defense technology firm, is set to play a significant role at TEKNOFEST 2026 in Şanlıurfa, Southeastern Turkey, reinforcing the nation’s “National Technology Initiative.” From September 30 to October 4, at Şanlıurfa GAP Airport, STM will host elite drone piloting competitions and exhibit its advanced indigenous defense systems, aiming to inspire the next generation of technologists and engineers.

The festival will feature two major drone events orchestrated by STM. The domestic TEKNOFEST Drone Championship will culminate in its 2026 season final in Şanlıurfa. Following an initial stage in Şırnak with 32 competitors and a second stage in Batman involving 24, the top 16 pilots have advanced. These finalists will vie on September 30 for the national title, with the champion earning the right to represent Turkey in the prestigious World Drone Cup.

The international World Drone Cup (WDC) is scheduled to commence on October 1, bringing together 32 top drone pilots from diverse nations. These accomplished pilots, successful in their respective national competitions, will compete with high-speed First-Person View (FPV) drones they have personally designed and assembled. This year’s challenging course will incorporate dynamic moving gates, pushing the limits of pilots’ speed, reflexes, and control capabilities over four intense days of competition to determine the 2026 WDC champion.

Beyond the aerial acrobatics, STM will prominently display its engineering prowess in national defense technologies. Visitors to the STM stand will experience scale models of key naval platforms and unmanned systems, including the TCG ISTANBUL, the fifth ship of Turkey’s pioneering MİLGEM national frigate project; the STM500, Turkey’s indigenously designed small-sized submarine; KARGU, Turkey’s inaugural national loitering munition system; and TOGAN, a nationally developed reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle.

Interactive engagements are planned for younger attendees throughout the festival. Children and young adults can participate in a “Digital Memory Game” to match STM’s warships and UAVs. Children will also have the opportunity to digitally realize their own designs of ships, submarines, aircraft, and UAVs. Furthermore, students can explore suitable engineering fields within STM through a digital competency survey and learn about internship, candidate engineering, and broader career prospects within the company.

Özgür Güleryüz, STM General Manager, emphasized the profound impact of TEKNOFEST on fostering technological innovation among youth and shaping the future of the National Technology Initiative. “After its success in ‘Blue Homeland,’ TEKNOFEST now converges with our youth in Şanlıurfa, Southeastern Turkey. The passion displayed by young people nationwide to engage with technology, dream big, and aspire to create future technologies is the strongest guarantee for our goal of a fully independent Turkish defense industry,” Güleryüz stated. “At STM, we highly value accompanying them on this journey through competitions and events, while showcasing the technologies developed with our national engineering capabilities. We invite all young individuals and their families to join in this excitement.”