Azerbaijan to receive Roketsan's SOM cruise missiles amid French embargo PHOTO/VIDEO

Deliveries of the Turkish-made Roketsan SOM air-to-surface cruise missile to Azerbaijan will commence soon, said Roketsan's CEO, Murat İkinci.

Agreement for the sale of SOM missiles to Azerbaijan was reached some time ago, however, the deal could not be implemented due to a ban imposed by France (as the Microturbo TRI 40 turbojet engine, produced by Safran, was used), Caliber.Az quotes SavunmaSanayiST.com as saying on X.

Ambargoya Son, İhracata Tam Gaz!

— Roketsan Genel Müdürü Murat İkinci, SOM Seyir Füzesi’nin Azerbaycan’a teslimatlarına yakında başlanılacağını açıkladı.

— Fransız ambargosu sebebiyle ihracatın önü kesilirken, ambargoya tabi sistemler millileştirildi!

pic.twitter.com/AqLIgO9XWf

— SavunmaSanayiST.com (@SavunmaSanayiST) September 26, 2024

Thus, the "French barrier" in the deal between Ankara and Baku was lifted after the development of the KTJ-3200 turbojet engine by the Turkish company Kale Arge for use in SOM missiles.

The SOM cruise missile is designed to strike stationary and moving ground and surface targets at ranges of up to 250 km.

It weighs 600 kg, of which 230 kg is the warhead. The missile is guided during its cruise phase by a GPS/inertial navigation system with terrain contour matching. In its upgraded versions, the SOM-B1 and SOM-B2, the missile is additionally equipped with an infrared seeker for terminal guidance.

The missile can also compare pre-programmed images of key points along its route with the current scene.

The infrared seeker and terrain contour matching allow the missile to find its target even in the absence of a GPS signal.