Türkiye to equip newest aircraft, drones with “Şimşek-3” missile PHOTO/VIDEO

The new “Şimşek-3” cruise missile, also known as “Super Şimşek”, will take Türkiye to the top league in this sphere.

“The Super Şimşek has been developed based on lessons learned from the production of the "Şimşek" UAV. The Şimşek-3 has a longer range than the Şimşek, and is planned to be used in 11 different missions,” TRT Haber reports.

Weighing 200 kg, the missile will be able to fly at Mach 0.8-0.9. It will be mounted on the KAAN national combat aircraft and ANKA-3 drone strike aircraft.

In addition to its ability to perform tasks such as electronic support/electronic attack, and decoy by swarming tasks with the platforms it accompanies, it can be used as a cruise missile against critical targets such as air defence systems, given that its warhead is 35 kg.

Capabilities such as electronic warfare and decoys present the cruise missile as a new trump card for the Turkish Air Force against air defence systems. It is believed that the "Super Şimşek" will have a significantly greater range than the "Şimşek" drone, as it is a larger and faster platform when used as a kamikaze drone.

In addition to the combat aspect, the similarity of the design and flight characteristics to combat aircraft will also be important for air defence systems' testing and training activities.