High school and university students, as well as graduates, can participate in the Savaşan İHA Competition. As of 2026, 5,387 people have taken part in the application process. At the final, 42 teams aged 18-56, representing 19 provinces as well as Türkiye and Indonesia, will compete. The competition aims to develop young people’s skills in unmanned aerial systems, artificial intelligence, image processing and autonomous decision-making.
In the competition, which consists of the “Savaşan İHA” and “Kamikaze İHA” missions, teams will attempt to detect and lock onto rival aircraft using imagery, without physical intervention, while avoiding defense systems and signal-jamming zones. The final matches will be held at Siirt Airport on August 24-30. The top-ranked teams will receive a total of 1.5 million TL in prize money: 600 thousand TL for first place, 500 thousand TL for second place and 400 thousand TL for third place. Prestige awards will also be presented.
Why it matters
The competition provides an environment in which not only technical design but also the ability to make decisions based on imagery and carry out missions without intervention are tested in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles. In this respect, it brings high school and university students together with graduates on the same platform, enabling them to apply the knowledge and skills acquired during their education under realistic mission conditions. The participation of teams from different provinces of Türkiye, along with teams from Indonesia, shows that the event has a structure open to comparing working methods and technical approaches. The key question to be answered in the final will be how successfully teams can combine tasks such as detection, locking on and avoiding signal-jamming zones at the same time.