By Amir Husain
War has evolved. It’s no longer about standalone weapons, but rather about complex systems, high-speed, software-defined couplings between distributed, autonomous, and semi-autonomous systems.
Welcome to the era of the Battle Mesh.
I’m not just referencing network centric warfare. I’m talking AI, deep integration across the joint force, cross-platform where stealth UCAVs, fifth-gen fighters, loitering munitions, BVR missile swarms, and EW pods form a synchronized kill web; multiple nodes optimized in real time.
The triad of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan is quietly emerging as a formidable force in this domain, with joint projects and interoperable platforms forming the backbone of a sovereign, non-Western Battle Mesh. All three countries have employed parts of these systems in multiple wars, where performance has been exemplary.
So much is in play…
1.Anka-3: Stealth strike UCAV with high subsonic endurance and ISR-strike fusion
2.Kaan: Fifth-gen fighter under active testing with internal weapons bays and stealth shaping
3.Anka-4: Supersonic, air-to-air UCAV in development for deep A2A capability
4.Kızılelma: Stealthy, carrier-capable loyal wingman UCAV with aggressive flight envelope
5.PFX: Pakistan’s indigenous 5th-gen fighter initiative, expected to complement Kaan
6.Faaz, Gökdoğan, Gökhan: Next-gen BVR and high-energy air-to-air missiles
7.SOM, KaGeM v2: Advanced cruise missile systems with precision deep-strike capabilities
8.HA-240: UCAV-launched, high-speed ALBM with regional reach
9.YIHA-III: Networked loitering munition swarm platform
10.Murat AESA & AM-350S: Scalable radar families for UCAVs and manned aircraft
11.EW Pods: Panjnad, TAI suites for contested spectrum ops
12.TB3, Shahpar III, Barq: Indigenous UCAVs for ISR and strike, capable of SATCOM ops and naval integration
This ecosystem goes beyond individual systems. It’s about broad interoperability. This starts from CAD model (e.g. 200+ Pakistani engineers working on Kaan for years) to combat sortie (joint exercises), jointly developed doctrine, co-produced hardware (KaGeM, Iqbal), synchronized datalinks, and integrated munitions.
A trilateral mesh is forming. And it’s growing fast.
Outside of the US and China, which other nations or coalitions do you see fielding a comparable, sovereign, multi-domain Battle Mesh?
