Azerbaijan starts local production of naval drones

Azerbaijan has begun domestic production of two unmanned surface-vessel designs through a joint line operated by state defence company MIRAS and Turkey's DEARSAN Shipyard. President Ilham Aliyev inspected the facility on September 6, 2026, where the partners displayed the armed SALVO and the KAYRA one-way attack vessel and conducted practical testing. The programme moves Azerbaijan from importing Turkish naval drones toward assembling them within its own defence-industrial base. Officials did not disclose how many craft have been completed, the proportion of local content or when full-rate production and operational deliveries will begin.