Kazakhstan Tests Domestic UAVs and UGVs at SHAIQAS-2026 Championship

Kazakhstan held its first national military engineering championship, SHAIQAS-2026, where domestic UAVs and UGVs were tested.

The event organizers reported this.

SHAIQAS-2026 was held August 13-15 at the Amandyk training ground near the city of Shchuchinsk in Akmola Region.

Kazakhstan’s Defense Ministry selected 17 teams to compete, representing security services, universities, engineering schools and industry. According to local media, more than 400 engineers, programmers, cadets and robotics specialists took part.

The event demonstrates that Kazakhstan is seeking to establish more direct links between engineers, unmanned systems, industry and the operational needs of its armed forces.

The championship featured four areas: UAVs, UGVs, cybersecurity and tactics. At the training ground, teams tested FPV drones, unmanned ground systems and cybersecurity tools, as well as their ability to integrate hardware, software and personnel into a functional operational system.

A distinctive feature of SHAIQAS was the composition of its participants. Kazakhstan’s Armed Forces fielded teams from military educational institutions and airborne troops, while civilian universities, engineering schools and domestic companies competed alongside them.

The Center for Defense Technologies under the Defense Ministry organized the event, which brought together representatives and partners from the broader technology ecosystem, including Barys Dynamics, Astana Hub, USTEM Foundation, Ashyk Aspan Foundation and Cyberlabs.

Such an approach provides an alternative path into the defense sector: the military can identify promising engineers while they are still studying at universities, working in workshops or participating in small technology teams.

The selected unmanned-system technologies are expected to undergo further testing with industrial partners, receive technical support and potentially proceed to serial production and, ultimately, deployment by the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan.

The championship winners and finalists will also take part in the Batyl Toitarys-2026 strategic command-and-staff exercises, where robotic technologies will undergo further testing alongside UAV operators.

Moving from a successful prototype to a mass-produced weapon system that can withstand real combat conditions requires reliable supply chains, resilience to electronic warfare, certification, standardization, trained operators and long-term maintenance.