First Look Emerging Military Technologies and Battlefield Systems Revealed at DIMDEX 2026.

At DIMDEX 2026 in Doha, defense firms highlighted how maritime security is shifting toward networked command systems, unmanned platforms, and faster decision cycles. The trend signals how future naval operations, including those relevant to U.S. and allied forces, will depend less on individual ships and more on integrated combat architectures.

Army Recognition observed in Doha on January 21, 2026 how maritime security is rapidly evolving toward joint, networked operations in which sensors, effectors, and unmanned assets must operate as a single, integrated combat system. Filmed directly from the exhibition floor, the Army Recognition video features two in-depth interviews with HAVELSAN and Milkor that illustrate this shift in concrete operational terms, moving beyond conceptual promises to the realities shaping procurement decisions: accelerated targeting cycles, resilient command-and-control architectures, and platforms designed to survive and operate effectively in contested littoral environments.
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Cutting-edge armored platforms on display at DIMDEX 2026 illustrate how integrated command systems, unmanned assets, and modular combat vehicles from HAVELSAN and Milkor are shaping the future of networked maritime and joint operations (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).

For HAVELSAN, the core message is that naval combat power increasingly depends on the quality of the digital backbone as much as the missiles on the rails. Its ADVENT Combat Management System was designed around force-oriented, network-centric operations rather than a single ship-centric model, a distinction that matters in the Gulf where threats compress warning time and where navies must coordinate across multiple hulls, aircraft, and coastal sensors. ADVENT’s relevance is not abstract: it is built to fuse sensor inputs, manage tactical data exchange, and support coordinated engagement across a task group, including interoperability through NATO-standard links such as Link 11, Link 16 and Link 22 alongside gateways and national systems. In tactical terms, that architecture supports a cleaner common operational picture, quicker threat evaluation, and more disciplined weapons assignment, especially for layered air defense and fast-moving surface threats where seconds lost to manual coordination can become mission failure.

HAVELSAN also used the discussion to reinforce how autonomy and AI-enabled decision support are being pulled into the same operational network rather than treated as standalone robotic programs. The company’s approach treats artificial intelligence as an enabling layer across air, land, and naval solutions, intended to reduce operator burden while improving speed and consistency in complex, multi-domain environments. That same logic explains the growing attention around BAHA, a subcloud autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle optimized for short-range intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance when weather, terrain, or cluttered coastlines complicate the use of higher-altitude assets. BAHA’s configuration points to a compact system with endurance measured in hours, a tactical data link suitable for forward operations, and an integrated electro-optical and infrared sensor suite. In operational use, systems in this category are valuable as cueing and confirmation tools: they can scan harbor approaches, monitor offshore infrastructure, and provide last-mile target identification that feeds the ship or coastal command chain, particularly when combined with networked command-and-control that can push the track to the right shooter without delay.

Milkor’s interview, by contrast, illustrates how a company long associated with grenade launcher engineering is positioning itself as a broader multi-domain supplier, with unmanned aviation and maritime platforms that map directly onto current naval security problems. The Milkor 380 MALE unmanned aerial vehicle is central to that shift. Designed for long-endurance missions at medium altitude, the platform is intended to deliver persistent surveillance over sea lanes and exclusion zones, extended search patterns for surface contacts, and the ability to carry mission payloads such as electro-optical sensors, maritime surveillance radar, or electronic support systems. For naval and joint forces, this translates into longer on-station time, wider coverage, and improved situational awareness without committing manned aircraft to routine patrol tasks.

Milkor’s product logic also extends to the close fight, where boarding teams, coastal security units, and expeditionary forces require compact, high-volume firepower. The SuperSix multi-range grenade launcher is engineered for rapid multi-shot delivery, offering a balance between range, payload flexibility, and controllability. At the maritime tactical level, this capability is not simply about increased firepower, but about shaping the engagement space with smoke, illumination, and suppression during vessel interdiction or point defense around ports, offshore facilities, and choke points. Complementing this is Milkor’s work on modular unmanned surface vessel concepts, built around payload flexibility and endurance. Such platforms are increasingly attractive for navies seeking to extend patrol coverage, conduct surveillance in high-risk areas, and absorb risk in environments threatened by mines, fast attack craft, or loitering munitions.

Taken together, the HAVELSAN and Milkor interviews at DIMDEX 2026 reflect a common operational reality: future maritime and joint operations will be decided less by individual platforms and more by how effectively systems are integrated into a resilient, networked combat architecture. The technologies presented are not speculative concepts, but practical tools shaped by real operational demands, signaling where procurement priorities are heading in an era of compressed decision cycles and increasingly complex threat environments.