Turkish defence industry begins mass production of BOZOK laser-guided munitions

Turkey has begun mass production of a new munition designed specifically for its drones.

In an exclusive interview with an AA correspondent, Gürcan Okumuş, Director of the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK) Defense Industry Research and Development Institute (SAGE), discussed the recent advancements surrounding the BOZOK, SOM-J, KUZGUN, and GÖKTUĞ Projects. In this regard, Gürcan Okumuş reported that the laser-guided miniature munition Bozok, the institute’s first drone munition, has entered mass production.

TÜBİTAK SAGE began developing Bozok in 2015 as a “intermediate solution” in addition to ROKETSAN’s Smart Micro Munition family (MAM-C, MAM-L, and MAM-T). In 2018, the first firing test of Bozok was conducted using a Bayraktar TB2 drone, confirming the munition’s high-precision strike capability. Work on the development of Bozok’s various capabilities has continued since then. The new test firings in the Saros Gulf were used to evaluate the point reached in the project. Bozok was launched with laser guidance this time, and it was successful in destroying its target. Bozok, whose qualifying procedure began in 2020, was supposed to go into mass production in 2021, however due to the Covid-19 pandemic, that date was pushed back to 2022.

BOZOK, according to TÜBİTAK SAGE, allows effective defense in asymmetric warfare without risking friendly forces by providing attack capabilities to UAVs. Bozok provides operational conformability in UAVs where weight is crucial due to its lightweight and compact design. BOZOK uses an inertial measurement unit for tactical midcourse inertial navigation. The semi active laser seeker provides precision guidance during terminal course. BOZOK delivers a large-scale anti-personnel impact based on proximity sensors and optimum target effectiveness at the end of the terminal phase.