Newest addition to wrap up Türkiye's end-to-end air defense chain

Türkiye is preparing to incorporate into the inventory this year a new homegrown system with long-range high-altitude air defense capabilities, an addition that senior industry officials say will mark the last link in the country's defense chain.

Momentum over the recent years has seen Türkiye developing and producing its own domestic missile-defense technology, from short-range to long-range systems, after Ankara repeatedly sought to secure the equipment from Western partners, according to Daily Sabah.

The US's refusal to provide Patriot air defense systems prompted Türkiye to look elsewhere, eventually ending up with its purchase of S-400 missiles from Russia in 2019, sparking a row between the two NATO allies.

Aselsan has been involved in most of Türkiye's ambitious defense industry projects, from drones to fighter jets, warships, and missile defense systems.

The defense equipment manufacturer is preparing to deliver Siper, a long-range surface-to-air missile air defense system developed in partnership with Roketsan and TÜBITAK Defense Industries Research and Development Institute (SAGE), this year.

"With Siper, we will ensure the incorporation of long-range high-altitude air defense into our inventory. Under the leadership of our state, we will complete the end-to-end air defense layer in 2024," Aselsan General Manager Akyol told Anadolu Agency (AA).

Akyol described air defense as a structure consisting of low-altitude, medium-altitude, and high-altitude layers, highlighting the importance of the Korkut system in short-range air defense.

The Korkut is a self-propelled air defense 35mm gun that can be used against hostile helicopters, drones, and ground attack aircraft. It can also engage air-to-ground and cruise missiles.

It has been heavily used by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), while Akyol also emphasized interest from many countries in the system.

"Türkiye now produces, utilizes, and achieves positive results in operations with its own capabilities, including its smart ammunition, in collaboration with Aselsan's partner organizations," said Akyol.

"We will witness significant advancements in air defense this year."

Row with US

The purchase of S-400s from Russia prompted the US to impose sanctions, known as CAATSA, and remove Türkiye from the multinational program to buy, and help develop and build the F-35 fighter jets.

Washington argued the air missile defense systems posed a risk to the advanced fighter jet, whereas Ankara insisted they would not be integrated into NATO systems.

Türkiye had ordered about 100 F-35s, and its companies were building some 900 parts for the warplane.

Ankara has demanded reimbursement for payments made for the F-35s and has since requested to buy F-16 warplanes and modernization kits to refresh its existing fleet.

After a prolonged process that frustrated Ankara, US President Joe Biden's administration last month finally approved the $23 billion sale of 40 new F-16s, as well as nearly 80 kits after Türkiye formally ratified Sweden's membership in NATO.

Aselsan's former chairperson and current president of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), Haluk Görgün, said last year that Türkiye might not need S-400 batteries to protect itself as its homegrown equipment increasingly takes on that role.

"Türkiye has reached this level with the contributions of Aselsan, TÜBITAK, Roketsan, and thousands of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)," said Akyol.

"We have Siper Block-2 and Siper Block-3. We also have our Gürz system, which we call hybrid air defense. We have made significant progress with it," he noted.

"It is a system that combines several capabilities such as being able to engage in different scenarios simultaneously, including firing particulate ammunition from a single platform and being able to launch missiles to prevent short-range threats."

Türkiye has also added the Hisar, a family of short-, medium- and long-range surface-to-air missile systems developed jointly by Aselsan and Roketsan.

"Hisar-A and Hisar-A have entered the inventory. The upper-layered Hisar-O and Hisar-O have also entered the inventory," said Akyol, stressing that works are underway with Roketsan to extend the systems' ranges with some improvements.

Profound transformation

The profound transformation in Türkiye's defense industry has been spurred by a score of Western embargoes.

Over the last 20 years, the drive has aimed at reducing external dependency on Western arms through innovative engineering initiatives and domestically developed technologies.

It prompted the development of a range of homegrown air, land, and marine platforms, eventually helping lower Türkiye's foreign dependency on defense from around 80% in the early 2000s to about 20% today.

The ground covered since 2002 has reached a level where Türkiye exports more than 230 defense products to about 170 countries. The exports reached a record of $5.5 billion in 2023.

Türkiye's aviation industry is one of the key builders of aircraft structures and equipment and a provider of maintenance-repair services for the world's leading platform manufacturers.

"The unjust embargoes Türkiye occasionally faced have led us to localize even at the level of particulate materials," Akyol said.

"Air defense brings together all technologies, from seeker heads to communication systems, radars to electro-optical systems, command control to navigation, friend-or-foe recognition systems to fire control algorithms, in a single platform."

Akyol mentioned that Aselsan introduced nearly 20 new products in 2023 and stressed the company would focus on new equipment and new exports in 2024.

Reiterating that Türkiye's first armed unmanned surface vessel, named Marlin, entered the inventory last year, he noted their focus on unmanned systems not only on land and sea but also underwater.

Akyol highlighted the final stages of preparing the unmanned underwater vehicle, Deringöz, for use in underwater activities of a public institution.

"Underwater, we have Deringöz, on the surface, Marlin, and on land, we have the advanced Tunga and Ertunga products, which we have brought to significant stages in 2023, even exporting some," he noted.

"In 2024, we will focus on unmanned new products and new export efforts."