Turkish defense giant to monitor straits with cameras

By Goksel Yildirim

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish defense contractor ASELSAN on Friday installed new electro-optic systems in Istanbul and the Canakkale straits to allow continuous monitoring of ship traffic.

The new system is an upgrade of the Turkish Strait Vessel Traffic Services (TSVTS) as commissioned by the Coastal Safety Directorate under Turkey’s Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Ministry.

Under the project, ASELSAN product cameras were integrated into traffic surveillance stations at several points in Istanbul, including Ahirkapi, Uskudar, Kandilli, Kanlica, Beykoz, Yomburnu, Garipce, and Rumeli Kavagi.

For the Canakkale Strait, to the southwest, leading to the Aegean Sea, cameras were installed in Zincirbozan, Gocukburnu, Kepez, Kumkale, and Poyraztepe.

With domestic and national technologies the cameras are capable of fixed and moving tasks, optical zoom up to 30 X, and infrared led and laser lighting.

The project also includes ASELSAN's Reis Coast Guard Radar, which can detect and monitor above-sea targets and low-altitude air targets.

Reis is a coastal surveillance radar with a redundant send / receive structure that provides advanced target detection and segregation and automatically provides continuous operation in case of failure. It is also used in applications such as ship traffic services and port and migration control.

The System of Turkish Strait Vessel Traffic Services (TSVTS) in the Turkish Straits, one of the most important waterways in the world, will provide uninterrupted monitoring opportunity on a 24/7 basis with domestic and national technologies.

With $1.8 billion in revenue, last year Turkey’s largest defense electronics company ASELSAN ranked 52nd on the U.S.-based magazine Defense News list, up from 55th in 2017.

ASELSAN is active in military and civil telecommunications, radar, electronic warfare, defense, weapons, command control and navigation systems.

* With writing and contributions by Aysu Bicer