Turkish F-4 armed with SOM missiles
Turkish defense contractor Roketsan has said its future
missile systems will use fully domestic turbojet engines created for Turkey's
stand-off-munition cruise missile, SOM, as of next year.
The turbojet engines will add to Turkey's growing list of
domestic defense products. SOM cruise missiles were developed by the Scientific
and Technological Research Council of Turkey's (TÜBİTAK) Defense Industry
Research and Development Institute (SAGE) and produced by Roketsan.
Recently the Undersecretariat of Defense Industry and
Kale Aviation Industry Inc. signed a contract that included the design,
production, testing, technology demonstration, training, maintenance and
technical data package of the turbojet engine and related subsystems to be used
in the mass production of SOM missiles, as required by the Turkish Air Force
Command.
Kale Aviation is getting ready to finalize its efforts
for turbojet engines supplied from abroad. Turbojet engines will be used in SOM
missiles as of the middle of next year. So, a critical part of the missiles
will have been procured more economically and possible export restrictions will
have been prevented.
The finished system could also be used in SOM-like
systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and small-class aircraft with minor
modifications.
The project has allowed making significant gains in the
reduction of external dependency on engine technologies.
The first gain is the development of sub-systems such as
alternators, fuel pumps, fuel control systems, electronic control units and
pyrotechnic igniters, which could also be used in other engines. In addition,
the project also saw the development of compressors, core engines, combustion
chambers and turbines. The second major gain is national and original
development of all development testing mechanisms, considered a must to develop
a new jet engine. The SOM missile family, designed for use against ground and
sea targets, comes in different variants including the SOM-A, SOM-B1, SOM-B2,
and SOM-J.
The missiles have an operational range of more than 250
kilometers and offer low visibility, high precision, resistance/endurance
against mixing measures, network-based movement suitability, engagement with
opportunity targets and selection between pre-planned tasks during flight,
target definition during flight, selectable stroke parameters and universal
weapon interface compatibility.
Original post: dailysabah.com
SOM Air-to-Surface Cruise Missile: Details
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