ANKARA, Turkey — Military electronics specialist Aselsan, Turkey’s largest defense company, has signed a contract with the Turkish government for the serial production of missile hunters.
Aselsan said in a statement that the contract with Turkey’s defense procurement agency, the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries, involves the serial production of an air-defense fire-control center, modernized 35mm towed guns and air-defense systems, and 35mm airburst ammunition.
Aselsan said the systems produced under this contract will be delivered to the Turkish Army and Air Force.
“These systems merit [the] ‘Missile Hunter‘ rank with the live firing trials conducted on December 1st, 2015. During the trials, effectiveness of Aselsan systems against air-to-ground missiles was successfully demonstrated with a highly challenging test scenario,” the company said.
All systems, including subsystems such as radars and smart ammunition, are Aselsan’s indigenous design and development work, the company said.
The towed air-defense gun system platoon is designed to perform low-altitude air-defense missions for military bases and critical assets primarily against air-to-ground missiles, cruise missiles, UAVs, and fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
Meanwhile, Aselsan said that the serial production of its KORKUT self-propelled air-defense gun system has been progressing well since 2016.
The KORKUT, another indigenous Aselsan design, was developed to provide effective air defense for mechanized troops and mobile units.
The system features firing-on-the-move capability with a stabilized and unmanned gun turret. The KORKUT gun system fires 35mm airburst ammunition in addition to conventional 35mm munitions. The system provides air defense against modern air threats including air-to-ground missiles, cruise missiles and drones.
On Jan. 16, Aselsan announced that it was awarded a long-range defense system contract from the Turkish government. The company said its share in the deal is worth 869 million liras (approximately U.S. $230 million) and €279 million (U.S. $341 million).
Burak Ege Bekdil was the Turkey correspondent for Defense News.
