Türkiye testing special air-to-air missiles for UAVs PHOTO

Türkiye is preparing to integrate air-to-air missiles into its attack drones. For this purpose, new air-to-air missiles are being developed.

SavunmaSanayiST.com reports on X, Caliber.Az reports.

F-16’lara uyumlu ATMACA Gemisavar Füzesi geliyor

— Havadan Atılan ATMACA için çalışmalar başladı

— Türk F-16'ları, SLAM-ER olmadan da gemi vurabilecek

Ayrıntılar: https://t.co/h7cpODEeeh pic.twitter.com/No3DBJTihB

— SavunmaSanayiST.com (@SavunmaSanayiST) October 16, 2023

The decision to mass produce GÖKDOĞAN and BOZDOĞAN, the first Turkish air-to-air missiles developed by TÜBİTAK-SAGE, was made in recent months. The GÖKDOĞAN Beyond-Visual air-to-air missile and the BOZDOĞAN air-to-air missile will not only be used on the F-16 platform.

The Turkish defense industrial complex is doing some work on integrating air-to-air missiles for UAVs. As part of these studies, it was decided to develop lightweight versions of the GÖKDOĞAN and BOZDOĞAN missiles. After completion of work on the development of UAV-specific GÖKDOĞAN and BOZDOĞAN missile configurations, integration activities will begin.

On the other hand, the national AESA MURAD radar developed by ASELSAN was recently integrated into the AKINCI UAV for testing purposes. Once the tests are completed, AKINCI will be able to engage air targets detected by the MURAD AESA radar using GÖKDOĞAN and BOZDOĞAN missiles.

The research is coordinated by the Defense Industry Directorate and carried out by ASELSAN, BAYKAR and TÜBITAK-SAGE. It is also known that Roketsan is also working on air-to-air missiles.

Currently, there is no UAV platform in the world capable of using air-to-air missiles. The US recently tested the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile (BOZDOĞAN equivalent) using an MQ-9 Reaper UAV.

BOZDOĞAN Line-of-Visual Air-to-Air Missile (WVRAAM)

BOZDOĞAN is an In-Sight air-to-air missile equivalent to the US-produced AIM-9X missile. Equipped with a high-resolution infrared homing head (IIR) providing excellent off-target angle, BOZDOĞAN is resistant to electronic warfare.

The missile, which has a range of about 25 kilometers, can reach speeds of 3 times the speed of sound (Mach 3) and is highly maneuverable thanks to vector control. Thanks to its IIR warhead, it was designed to defeat even cruise missiles.

Rocket name: BOZDOĞAN        AIM-9X Sidewinder

Weight:          140 kilograms     84 kilograms

Length:           3.3 meters        10 feet

Diameter:       160 millimeters  127 millimeters

Range:           25+ kilometers   30+ kilometers

Speed:            Mach 4+            Mach 2.5+

Testing of BOZDOĞAN began in April 2019 in cooperation with TÜBİTAK-SAGE and the command of the 401st Test Squadron. In November 2019, a test firing was conducted from the wing of an F-16 on the ground, which successfully destroyed a high-speed unmanned aerial vehicle at an altitude of 4 kilometers. It is planned that BOZDOĞAN will replace the AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles in service with the Turkish Air Force command.

GÖKDOĞAN is a Beyond Visible air-to-air missile similar to the US-produced AIM-120 AMRAAM. GÖKDOĞAN, which has a semiconductor design of an active radar (AR) homing head. It has the ability to fire and forget, lock on to multiple targets, lock on after firing, and shoot from any angle. The missile, resistant to electronic warfare, can be aimed at a source of interference. The missile, which has a range of about 65 kilometers, can update targets thanks to a data link.