Recently, Turkey's Roketsan company launched the "ÇAKIR" new subsonic cruise missile family that is still under development, which can be multi-headed and can be mounted by multiple platforms to carry out cluster attacks. It is worth mentioning that at its press conference, it also specially showed the picture of its mount test of the Akinci UAV produced in Turkey, showing its extraordinary adaptability.
Turkey's Roketsan Company once developed the Atmaca subsonic anti-ship missile, which is designed to replace the American Harpoon missile. The Atmaca anti-ship missile signed a contract for the development phase in 2009, began live-fire testing in 2016, signed a mass production contract on November 2, 2018, and conducted pre-mass production certification targeting at the Sinopis range on June 18, 2021, and the Ada-class missile frigate Using the Konale Island launched missiles to sink the decommissioned Ghazal tugboat. The missile is 6 meters long, 350 mm in diameter, has a wingspan of 1.3 m, weighs 800 kg, is equipped with a French TRI 40 micro turbojet engine, has a maximum flight speed of Mach 0.85, has a range of 220 km, is equipped with a 250 kg class semi-armor-piercing warhead, adopts mid-section INS /GPS guidance, end-stage active radar guidance, and is equipped with a two-way data link for integrated mission planning/mission termination of 3D routes. The company has also gained valuable R&D experience in the R&D process, and it is only natural to develop a new multi-role cruise missile based on it.
In contrast, the Kakil subsonic cruise missile is very similar to the Atmaca anti-ship missile in aerodynamic layout, with a normal aerodynamic shape layout and projectile structure, an oval fairing, a fixed air intake tract in the lower part of the projectile body, and a foldable wing, etc., but the projectile body is relatively small. The Kakir subsonic cruise missile is 0.275 meters in diameter, 3.3 meters long (without booster), 4.1 meters (with booster), 275 kg (without booster), 330 kg (with booster), warhead weight of 70 kg, and can choose from high explosive/semi-penetrating/fragmentation/temperature pressure models. This type of missile is propelled by a solid rocket booster + KTJ-1750 turbojet engine, and can fly at a high subsonic speed (Mach 0.75–0.85), a range of 150+ kilometers, and a certain radar absorbing material on the projectile. The missile adopts mid-section INS/ GPS guidance, and is also equipped with radar altimeter, barometric altimeter and terrain matching guidance, this configuration is the standard configuration of cruise missiles, which can achieve sea skimming and ground-to-ground flight to enhance penetration capabilities and strong anti-jamming performance.
The Kakir cruise missile is also equipped with a network-based two-way data link that enables human function in the loop, comprehensive mission planning/mission termination of 3D routes, and the final stage can rely on a variety of options such as infrared imaging seeker, radar seeker, composite (IIR+RF) seeker to determine the point of aim, and the infrared seeker may have the ability to return the final image. The bomb can also achieve mutual communication in units of 4 rounds to attack targets in clusters and enhance penetration capabilities. This type of missile can be launched by multiple platforms, including fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (AUAV)/UCAV, unmanned boats, tactical wheeled vehicles and naval ships, etc., and is very flexible to use, can effectively strike land and sea targets, and even attack targets in caves, with high accuracy.
It is worth mentioning that the Kakir cruise missile can also be launched using Turkey's domestic Akinci UAV, AKINCI UAV has a length of 12.5 meters, a wingspan of 20 meters, a height of 4.1 meters, a maximum take-off weight of 5.5 tons, a maximum lift limit of 12,000 meters, a cruising speed of 361 km / h, a range of 5000 km, a maximum take-off weight of 5500 kg, a payload of 1350 kg (external 900 kg and an internal 450 kg) endurance time of more than 24 hours. After the use of the Kakir cruise missile, the aircraft's mounting flexibility and ground strike capability will be greatly improved.
The Kakir cruise missile is still under development at Roketsan, with the first tests scheduled for 2022 and platform integration scheduled for 2023. On March 31, 2022, KalleR&D and Roketsan signed an agreement on the development and mass production of the KTJ-1750 turbojet engine, and given that KalleR&D's KTJ-3200 turbojet engine has been selected as the domestic power for Roketsan's SOM and ATMACA cruise missiles, the first deliveries have been made in September 2021, and the thrust is even greater, and the development of the KTJ-1750 based on which the design is reduced should be less difficult. But then again, the biggest problem with Turkey's weapons is that it relies too much on the West, depending on whether the Kakir cruise missile can overcome this problem!
KTJ-3200 turbojet engine