Roketsan: Rocketing ahead

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Turkish company Roketsan (Hall 3, Stand 3S2), well known for its extensive family of surface-tosurface rockets, is expanding into air-launched and ground-based anti-tank missiles to meet the requirements of the Turkish Land Forces Command.

Being shown at AAD 2010 are the latest 2.75in laser-guided missile (Cirit) and the long range anti-tank system (UMTAS), both of which are launched from attack helicopters.

The standard 2.75in rocket is unguided, but the 2.75in Cirit is a brand-new rocket fitted with a nose-mounted mid-course guidance semi-active laser seeker, with the missile having a maximum range of 8km.

The rocket is fitted with a tri-mode warhead with anti-armour, anti-personnel and incendiary capability and can be launched from M and LAU launchers, as well as the MIL-STD-1760 series interface launcher developed by Roketsan. It also features an insensitive munition reduced smoke propellant rocket motor and warhead. The 2.75in Cirit is now being qualified and will enter production later this year.

First application for the UMTAS is air launched from attack helicopters, but it also has potential for ground-based applications and has an expected in-service date of 2013.

UMTAS features a nose-mounted imaging infrared seeker and a tandem high explosive anti-tank warhead (HEAT) to defeat targets fitted with explosive reactive armour. Maximum range being quoted by Roketsan is 8km, with a minimum range of 500m. The all-weather missile has a lock on before launch or a lock on after launch capability.

There is also the man-portable medium-range antitank system (OMTAS), which has a projected in-service date of 2012. OMTAS has a maximum range of 4km and is fitted with a nose-mounted imaging infrared seeker and a tandem HEAT warhead. It has fire-and-forget and fire-and-update modes and can be launched from a confined space.

UMTAS and OMTAS share the same airframe, as well as having a number of similar subsystems, such as the tandem HEAT warhead.

AAD 2010 - Rocketing ahead