Domestic portable air defense missile enters Turkish army’s inventory

The Turkish defense industry has delivered the first batch of the Sungur Weapon System, a portable air defense missile system effective against unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), jets and helicopters, to the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), Presidency of Defense Industry (SSB) head Ismail Demir said.

Demir, in a post on his Twitter account, stated that the portable air defense missile system developed by Roketsan is at the service of Turkish troops with its version that is shot from the shoulder of a single soldier after the already delivered version deployed from platforms.

“The Sungur Weapon System offers a longer range than its counterparts and stands out with its Imaging Infrared Seeker Head, which is resistant to countermeasures and offers the opportunity to lock on to the enemy elements from a longer distance than the eye can see,” he wrote.

The SSB head congratulated those who contributed to the design, development and production of this system, “which we will no longer be dependent on from abroad.”

“We always say, if something is human-made, we can do the best,” Demir said.

The Sungur Air Defense Missile System is an air defense missile system to be used in the short-range air defense of mobile/fixed units and facilities on the battlefield and in the rear area. The system is designed to be compatible with different platform integrations.

The 8-kilometer (5-mile) range of the air defense missile used in the system stands out as the most important feature that distinguishes Sungur from its counterparts. While the missile system increases the accuracy of targets hit with its Imaging Infrared Seeker (IIR) technology, it also has an important advantage in the destruction of air targets with its warhead, which has higher explosive power than the similar system available in the inventory.

Its propulsion system, which enables it to be more effective at a longer range than its counterparts, and the use of sights, which allow the user to detect and view the target from a long distance before firing, are other technologies that increase the effectiveness and accuracy of the missile.

Having the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) System, Sungur also offers various advantages to the user with its ability to lock onto the target before firing and fire-forget.

Roketsan is currently continuing with the system’s integration with sea and air platforms, while it was already integrated into the tactical wheeled armored vehicle Vuran as a land platform in a short period of three months.