Support From NATO for GTU Academic's Project

May 27, 2025 - GTU Office of Press and Public Relations

The project titled "Securing HAPS Against Intelligent Link-Level Attacks (SHAILLA)", coordinated by Asst. Prof. Muhammad Sohaib Jamal Solaija from the Gebze Technical University (GTU) Institute of Defense Technologies, secures support under NATO’s Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Program.

The project focuses on addressing critical vulnerabilities in High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS)-based communication networks. It aims to develop new threat models for intelligent attacks targeting access, backhaul, and satellite communication layers. The research will also explore physical-layer defense mechanisms and GNSS-independent positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) approaches to enhance end-to-end network security.

SHAILLA will be conducted in collaboration with international partners, and the joint project directors consist of Prof. Syed Ali Hassan from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Pakistan; Prof. Güneş Karabulut Kurt from Polytechnique Montréal, Canada; and Prof. Hüseyin Arslan from Istanbul Medipol University.

To be supported for three years, the project aspires to deliver innovative security solutions in defense technologies and strengthen the resilience of HAPS-based networks.