Vietnam’s telecom giant Viettel expands defense tech cooperation with Turkish partners

Viettel High Tech, a subsidiary of military-run telecom heavyweight Viettel, has advanced partnerships in military communications, 5G infrastructure, counter-UAV systems, and next-generation defense technologies with major Turkish defense and telecom companies at the SAHA 2026 Defense and Aerospace Exhibition in Istanbul.

This marked one of the largest engagements by a Vietnamese company with Türkiye’s defense industry ecosystem.

Viettel High Tech showcased more than 70 high-tech defense industry products at the exhibition. Through one of the Eurasian region’s largest military expos, Viettel presented technologies that it has independently researched, developed, and manufactured, highlighting the growing capabilities of Vietnam’s defense industry.

During the five-day event on May 5-9, the company advanced multiple cooperation initiatives with leading Turkish defense and telecom enterprises, reflecting one of the most extensive outreach efforts by a Vietnamese company into Türkiye’s defense technology ecosystem.

Viettel High Tech signed a cooperation agreement with Karel Electronics, a major Turkish defense technology company, to promote the testing and integration of Viettel’s private 5G network solutions into military communication environments that require high levels of security and stability.

Barış Bilir, business development director at Karel Electronics, said the two sides possess highly complementary capabilities. Viettel High Tech has strong expertise in defense technologies, including end-to-end 5G solutions, while Karel specializes in command and communication systems for military platforms. This creates favorable conditions for future integrated solutions between the two companies, he said.

At the same time, Viettel High Tech expanded cooperation in the 5G sector with ULAK Communications, a company designated by the Turkish government to play a central role in the country’s strategy for telecom infrastructure self-reliance.

Previously, it successfully integrated its 5G N41 32T32R radio unit (RU) with ULAK’s baseband unit (BU). In the next phase, the two companies plan to continue integration on the N78 frequency band, aiming for trials on the networks of Turkcell and Turk Telekom.

Sami Duman, CEO of ULAK Communications, praised Viettel High Tech’s research, development, and system integration capabilities and expressed hope that both sides would soon accelerate testing and deployment on commercial network infrastructure.

CEO of Viettel High Tech Nguyen Minh Quang said the company is pursuing an open cooperation strategy focused on co-development and technology integration with local partners.

According to Quang, Türkiye’s strategy to localize telecom infrastructure, combined with Viettel’s strengths in 5G research and large-scale deployment experience on Viettel’s network, provides a solid foundation for long-term cooperation.

These cooperation activities come as Türkiye officially entered the 5G deployment phase in April 2026 after completing its spectrum auction at the end of 2025. With its large population, advanced industrial and technological base, and national digital sovereignty strategy, Türkiye is considered one of the most strategically significant 5G markets in the Eurasian region.

Within the framework of the exhibition, Viettel High Tech also expanded military product development cooperation with leading regional defense contractors including STM, SDT, ASPILSAN, EPROM, TÜBİTAK BİLGEM, TITRA, and HAVELSAN in areas such as electronic warfare, UAV/counter-UAV systems, high-power laser technologies, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), defense electronics, and energy infrastructure for high-tech platforms.

A key focus of cooperation involved Viettel’s counter-UAV systems, which integrate multiple layers of technology including radar reconnaissance, electro-optical systems, soft-kill electronic jamming systems, and hard-kill technologies such as electromagnetic pulse (EMP) systems and high-power lasers.

Before SAHA 2026, Viettel High Tech had already maintained a presence at numerous international defense exhibitions, steadily expanding its technology cooperation network and connections with defense industry ecosystems across the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia.