NATO awards "Target Detection" module designed for UAVs

As many countries increase their investments in defense industries, the importance of UAVs on battlefields continues to grow due to their significant contributions to nations.

This year, more than 80 companies from NATO member countries participated in the "Innovation Hackathon 2025," organized under NATO's DIANA program to promote dual-use advanced technology solutions in defense and security.

The company "Skytech Robotics Technologies," established at METU TEKNOKENT, participated in the competition with Associate Professor Dr. Erol Şahin from METU's Computer Engineering Department and Director of the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Technologies Research and Application Center (ROMER), and Assistant Professor Veli Bakırcıoğlu from Aksaray University. Inspired by the defense strategies of bees, they developed the AI-supported module named "STRIKE," which analyzes the approximate location of targets after UAV attacks and provides intelligence information.

The module, capable of real-time data processing and AI-supported analysis, successfully completed the exercise.

The Turkish academics' module, developed to provide operational awareness on battlefields, was selected among the top 10 by an international jury composed of military end-users designated by NATO, experts from the industry and academia, and innovation representatives, and was awarded.

Additionally, the company was encouraged to apply to NATO's DIANA program, which supports the development of dual-use technologies for civilian and military purposes in allied countries. The academics were also invited to contribute to research activities related to UAVs and related technologies within NATO's Science and Technology Organization (STO) Information Systems Technology (IST) panel.