Turkey test-fires its first long-range air defense missile system

Europe, Middle East, News November 10, 2021 , by IRIA 1 Comment

Turkey successfully test-fires its first indigenous long-range air defense missile system, the ‘SİPER’.

Turkish Defense Industry President Ismail Demir issued a statement last Saturday (November 6), stating that Turkey has successfully tested the long-range domestic air defense missile SİPER.

Chairman of the Presidential Palace of the Defense Industry Professor Ismail Demir said “We have successfully finished another stage in the development of our long-range and multi-layered national air defense system, SİPER. We will eliminate all threats to Turkish airspace in the strongest possible way with SİPER, which we plan to add in the inventory in 2023.”

Demir added that Turkey will continue to produce new weapons and will have up to six different air defense systems.

The SİPER project also known as Enhanced Long Range Area Air and Missile Defense System begin in 2016. It aims to realize the Turkish Air Force’s “long-range air and missile defense requirement” through indigenous solutions.

The project will be led by Turkish defense firms Aselsan, Roketsan, and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey’s Defense Industries Research and Development Institute (SAGE). The SİPER is part of Turkey’s layered air defense system and will provide strategic facilities with air defense at long range.

According to Turkish defense company Aselsan, the battery structure of the SİPER air defense system shows the Fleet Control Center (FKM), which is linked to the Air Force Radar Network – RADNET. The data is transferred to FKM by the Fire Control Center (AKM) using the Communication Station Vehicle (HIA), and a Communication Relay Tool (HRA) is used for transmission. The system includes a Missile Transport Loading System (FTYS) vehicle, which comprises four missile launchers, each with six cells. The system uses Data transfer from the Peace Eagle Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft (HEK) via Link-16.

The SİPER missile is currently Turkey’s longest-range domestic air defense missile system and it has an effective range of up to 100 kilometers and an altitude of 20 kilometers. It. The missile is based on HİSAR-RF and, like other HİSAR missiles, it has a dual pulse solid-propellant rocket motor and radiofrequency head.

According to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, the system includes a K-band radio frequency seeker that can intercept ballistic missiles at altitudes of 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) and above. A media source quoted the Turkish Ministry of Defense as saying that the interception range of the system against “breathing air targets” such as fighter jets, drones, and cruise missiles has increased to 70-90 kilometers (43-56 miles).

In addition to the SİPER, which is expected to compete with the Russian S-400, Korkut, Sungur, and Hisar air defense systems are also part of Turkey’s layered air defense. Like the Hisar-A+ and Hisar-O+ systems, the SİPER will be equipped with dual pulse engines, an active radar seeker, and an imaging infrared seeker, Demir told Turkey’s Daily Sabah on February 17.

Besides its achievements in the development of indigenous air defense systems, Turkey is also seeking to acquire the SAMP-T defense system jointly developed by Italy and France. During the G-20 summit in October, Turkish President Erdogan stated, “In the next period, we will take positive steps on the subject of SAMP/T and especially in the defense industry, as the France, Italy, and Turkey trio, and together with these positive steps, we will increase the current trade volume between us to a much higher degree.”