For Turkey, Precision Is Maximum Lethality, Minimum Cost
Multiplatform: The UMTAS is primarily a weapon of the Turkish T-129 helo and the Anka UAV, but potentially for armored land vehicles and naval vessels. (Roketsan)
ANKARA —
Turkish interest in precision strike has increased sharply in recent years with
local industry steadily becoming more active in providing those capabilities.“Countries
like Turkey facing multiple conventional and asymmetrical threats at the same
time in a relatively large and unstable geography must economize militarily and
financially unless they spend tens of billions in armament,” one senior officer
at the Turkish military’s doctrine unit said. “And Turkey is not one of those
spending-rich countries.”
This underscores a pressing need for smart, precision strike, a procurement
official said.
“Like
most other militaries with regional or global defense ambitions, Turkey’s is
targeting maximum lethality with minimum costs, given our budgetary
constraints. In fact, there is a policy directive to boost programs aiming at
maximum lethality with minimal costs,” the official said.
Turkey traditionally spends $3 billion to $4 billion annually for new
equipment and modernization programs.
According to a London-based Turkey specialist, the Turks were hardly aware of
the merits of precision strike until a few years ago.
“The concept itself was luxury thinking for the Turks,” he said. “But with the
newfound confidence in their local industry they are now investing impressively
in new technologies, which they hope would earn them smart capabilities for
better and cheaper hit.”
In February, Turkey’s state-run missile maker, Roketsan, said it won a
$196.2 million contract from the United Arab Emirates for its Cirit
laser-guided rocket system. Cirit is one of several programs launched by Turkey
to equip the Army’s T-129, AH-1P Cobra and AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters
with low-cost precision strike capabilities. The 70mm rocket has a range of
eight kilometers.
Airbus Helicopters, formerly Eurocopter, selected the Cirit for a test and
integration program to equip the company’s EC635. Roketsan is also producing
canisters for Lockheed Martin’s Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile.
Roketsan also has developed an anti-tank missile, the UMTAS, whose first
deliveries Turkey’s procurement bureaucracy awaits. The missile has had several
successful field tests.
The UMTAS, with its infrared imaging and laser-seeker options, is an
anti-tank missile with a range of eight kilometers that can be used in
air-to-ground and ground-to-ground operations. Roketsan officials said the
system is going through further technical tests and tests for compatibility
with environmental conditions.
The UMTAS is considered the official anti-tank system for the T-129 and the
Anka, Turkey’s first locally developed unmanned aircraft. Armored land vehicles
and naval vessels are other potential UMTAS platforms.
Roketsan also has been tasked with producing and marketing the SOM cruise
missile, a high-precision missile that can be launched from land, sea and air
platforms. The SOM has been developed since 2006 by TÜBÍTAK-Sage, a defense
research and development institute. Revealed in 2011, the SOM is Turkey’s first
domestic weapon to attack stationary and moving targets at a standoff distance
of more than 180 kilometers.
Another program is the HGK guidance kit, also developed by TÜBÍTAK-Sage. The
HGK is a GPS/INS guidance kit with flap-out wings that converts 2,000-pound
Mark 84 bombs into smart weapons. It enables precision strike in all weather
conditions with long range at a dispersion of six meters.
Other major TÜBÍTAK-Sage innovations include the NEB bunker buster, a bomb
able to destroy buried targets by penetrating protective reinforced concrete
and detonating at a desired time (it is compatible with the HGK); and the KGK
guidance kit, a precision guidance wing kit that converts 1,000-pound Mark 83
bombs and 500-pound Mark 82 bombs into long-range fire-and-forget smart
weapons.
Turkey’s local industry also is quickly progressing toward serial production of
the Atmaca, a radar-guided anti-ship cruise missile; and torpedoes, according
to industry sources. But the military official said that such smart weaponry
would be inadequate unless well supported by solid reconnaissance and
intelligence.
“That’s why we have several satellite and space-related programs,” he said.
“Good reconnaissance and intelligence, especially satellite imagery, are like
the fuel for a missile.”
Three satellite programs, Gokturk 1, 2 and 3, support precision strike
efforts. In addition, UTC Aerospace Systems, a joint venture between Goodrich
and Hamilton Sundstrand, signed in 2013 a contract to deliver advanced dual
band-110 (DB-110) airborne reconnaissance systems for integration into Turkish
Air Force F-16 fighter jets.
The contract was awarded by Turkish military electronics specialist Aselsan,
and is part of the Turkish Airborne Reconnaissance Program. Under the contract,
Goodrich and Hamilton Sundstrand are providing four DB-110 reconnaissance pods,
three fixed/transportable imagery exploitation systems, and training and
logistical support to the Air Force.
The DB-110 is an advanced electro-optical infrared pod designed to provide
pilots with real-time, long-range, high-resolution video imagery during day and
night tactical reconnaissance operations. The captured data is then relayed to
analysts on the ground but can also be displayed on the aircraft’s cockpit
video display to help pilots verify targets and conduct battle damage
assessmentBy BURAK EGE BEKDIL http://www.defensenews.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment