TEKNOFEST Southeast opens Wednesday in Sanliurfa

TEKNOFEST, billed as the world's largest aviation, space and technology festival, will welcome visitors Wednesday at Sanliurfa GAP Airport in southeastern Türkiye under the banner TEKNOFEST Southeast. The five-day gathering, running Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, will feature air shows, technology competitions, exhibitions and educational activities. Anadolu serves as the festival's "Global Communications Partner." Organized under the leadership of the Turkish Industry and Technology Ministry, the T3 Foundation and Defense Technologies Engineering and Trade Inc. (STM), the event will span 191,000 square meters at the airport.

Air shows and platforms on display

TEKNOFEST Southeast will offer activities for visitors of all ages across the five days. The program includes air shows by Türkiye's leading aviation and defense platforms, among them SOLOTURK and the Turkish Stars, as well as fighter aircraft. Visitors will also be able to see ATAK helicopters, HURKUS, ANKA, Bayraktar TB2, Bayraktar TB3 and Bayraktar AKINCI, alongside land and naval vehicles. The lineup also features concerts, stage performances, exhibitions, educational workshops, simulation areas, a planetarium, science shows, the TEKNOFEST Time Tunnel, displays of domestically developed land, naval and air vehicles, trade fair activities and special first-flight experiences for students.

More than 1.6M contestants from 99 countries

The festival will host technology competitions aimed at supporting development in critical fields, with teams advancing through preliminary stages receiving financial and other support. More than 1.6 million contestants and hundreds of thousands of teams applied to the competitions, and of more than 730,000 teams that applied, 2,000 reached the finals. Successful contestants will receive over 100 million Turkish liras in total support. Applications came from 99 countries, including the US, France, China and Japan. Eleven new categories were added, among them 5G, the Artificial Intelligence and Smart Road Safety Competition, the Technological Applications in Combating Addiction Competition and the Electronic Warfare Competition.

Finals of 14 competitions in Sanliurfa

The finals of technology competitions in 14 categories will be held in Sanliurfa as part of TEKNOFEST Southeast. These include the Technological Applications in Combating Addiction Competition, organized by the Turkish Green Crescent Society; the Blockchain Competition, organized by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TUBITAK); the Steel Dome Air Defense Systems Competition and Mobile Satellite Terminal Competition, organized by ASELSAN; the Financial Technologies Competition, arranged with Takasbank and the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye; the HackMasters Southeast Competition, organized by the Cybersecurity Presidency; the International Invention Competition under ISIF, organized by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office; the Mining Technologies Competition, organized by Turkish Gold Inc.; the Architectural and Visual Design Competition, organized by KUME Foundation; the 3T in Oncology Competition, organized by Cansagligi; the Agricultural Technologies Competition, organized by Bilişim Vadisi and TUME; the TEKNOFEST Drone Championship and World Drone Cup, organized by STM; and the TEKNOFEST Robolig Competition, organized by the T3 Foundation.

Free entry with online registration

Admission to TEKNOFEST Southeast is free, but visitors must register online to enter the festival grounds. Visitor entry and exit will be available between 9 am and 7 pm local time each day. Organizers recommend using public transportation to reach the festival area for faster and easier access. Further information about TEKNOFEST Southeast and visitor registration is available at www.teknofest.org. Since its launch, the festival has welcomed nearly 12 million visitors.