Turkey to Begin Manufacturing Anti-Ship Cruise Missile

06 November 2018

Atmaca, anti-ship cruise missile with max range 250km (image : defence.pk)

Presidency of Defence industries (SSB) of Turkey has signed a deal with two domestic companies Rokestan and Aselsan to manufacture the country’s first anti-ship missile jointly, an SSB statement said on Friday.

Turkey's first anti-ship missile, Atmaca, was developed to increase the capability of the Turkish Navy.

Roketsan, a major Turkish weapons manufacturer, is tasked with the serial production of Atmaca cruise missiles while Aselsan, a Turkish military-funded company, will work on the launch control systems and other essential equipment for the missiles.

The two Turkish companies will be making use of local resources for developing both missiles and launch systems.

The systems will be integrated into the MILGEM (National Ship) project, which was initiated in 2000 to locally design and build a fleet of multipurpose corvettes and frigates that will replace older ships.

The Atmaca is similar in capability to the Exocet of France, C-802 of China and Harpoon of the US. It can travel at subsonic speed and can reach a range of up to 200 km. 

Meanwhile, Turkey's newly appointed Defense Industry Executive Committee met for the first time on Wednesday under the chairmanship of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

"In the meeting, a total of 55 projects worth $9.4 billion were evaluated," Turkish presidency said in a statement following the meeting.

Erdoğan also announced  Wednesday that Turkey had started work on making its first domestically produced long-range air defense missile system and the first delivery is planned for 2021, Reuters reported . 

Strengthening the domestic defence industry and decreasing Turkey’s dependence on foreign goods and services were set by Erdoğan before Jun. 24 elections as one of the priorities of the new presidential system.

(Ahvalnews)