Portable control units of aerial vehicles such as UAVs, SIHAs and drones, as well as land vehicles such as TOMAs, Kirpis and convict vehicles, which were purchased from abroad in the past and could not be repaired due to various embargoes in case of malfunctions, are now produced locally. ERPA Technology General Manager Nihat Erdal stated that they produce portable control units that act as a kind of remote control for leading companies of the defense industry such as ASELSAN, ROKETSAN, HAVELSAN, BMS and METEKSAN, and gave information about defense industry projects.
Screens that withstand harsh conditions at the zero point of the border…
Explaining the working systems of portable control units, Erdal said, “Portable control unit; It means a control bag that can remotely manage UAVs, UCAVs and drones. It is a system that allows you to fly the device in the sky in harsh conditions in the field, such as at the zero point of the border, perhaps under the sun or in very low temperatures, and at the same time, it is possible to watch the images recorded by the device you fly. They are special products that are suitable for use in vehicles with tires, are resistant to certain temperature-cold levels, impacts and vibrations, and have passed certain tests. said.
Embargoes were hindering production
Sharing the story that caused them to focus on control units, Erdal said, “The engineer we are currently working with was sent to a country in Europe for repair as a result of the portable control bag they had previously purchased from abroad malfunctioned. After waiting for a long time, when they called and asked why it had not been repaired yet, they said that they would not repair and send the bag because Turkey was an embargoed country in the defense industry. As a result, this young engineer friend of ours contacted us with the dream of producing these control cards in our country, and as a result of our work together, we created a portable control unit for UAVs and SIHAs.”
We also produce screens for TOMA, Kirpi and convict vehicles.
“Initially, we started producing screens inside public transportation vehicles. Then the screens started to become smart and digital. During this period, with the development of the defense industry, demands in that direction increased. Bus manufacturers such as BMS and OTOKAR also started to produce defense vehicles. Erdal said, "With the production of vehicles such as TOMA, Kirpi, and convict vehicles, we also produced touch, smart screens for them." He said that the needs such as monitoring the records taken from outside the vehicle from the inside and return screens have arisen, thus companies such as ASELSAN, ROKETSAN, HAVELSAN, which produce on a national basis in our country. He stated that they took part in the projects.
We made SİDA's screen control units
"We made a screen control unit for the Armed Unmanned Marine Vehicle (SIDA) project, which is the first platform of METEKSAN's "ULAQ" series," said Erdal, adding: "We produced portable control bags for UAVs and SIHAs with BMS Defense. Our screens are used both during the first prototype and now while mass production continues.”
“Our screens are used in various vehicles in many countries around the world.”
Stating that they do not export directly, but their screens are included in many exported projects, Erdal concluded his words as follows: “For example; Our screens are among the 60 electric vehicles sold by Karsan to Canada. Our screens are included in the vehicles sold by Isuzu to France, as well as in the vehicles used by BMS in the Baku project and destined for Georgia and Azerbaijan. Likewise, the screens in the buses that Otokar sells to the Middle East also belong to us. We have approximately 60 thousand screens used in various provinces in Turkey. Nearly 20 thousand of these are used only in Istanbul.”
