Marmara region: An unmanned underwater systems competition, held as part of TEKNOFEST Blue Homeland to encourage the development of remotely operated or autonomous underwater vehicles, kicked off Thursday in Trkiye's northwestern Marmara region.

According to Anadolu Agency, TEKNOFEST Blue Homeland, Trkiye's premier naval defense event, is being held at Golcuk Naval Shipyard, with Anadolu serving as its global communications partner. The four-day expo showcases Trkiye's naval capabilities, underwater technologies, and a wide range of defense products, from naval platforms and unmanned systems to aircraft, air defense, and missile systems.

The unmanned underwater systems competition, organized by Turkish defense company Aselsan, is open to high school and college students studying in Trkiye and abroad, with teams made up of three to 15 members. The competition's evaluation process has four stages: technical qualification form; critical design report; watertightness, maneuverability, and mission demonstration video; and the final stage.

This year, 4,108 teams applied for the competition, and 41 teams that successfully completed all the stages qualified as finalists. The basic category has 20 teams and 196 competitors, while the advanced category has 21 teams and 278 competitors.

In the unmanned underwater systems competition, the first-place winner in the basic category will receive 250,000 Turkish liras ($5,214), the second-place winner 200,000 liras ($4,171), and the third-place winner 150,000 liras ($3,128). In the advanced category, the first-place team will receive 300,000 liras ($6,257), the second-place team 250,000 liras ($5,214), and the third-place team 200,000 liras ($4,171).