Can we have some info on the propulsion system, seeker tech of SOM?
KALE AERO will Develop Indigenous Turbojet Engine for SOM ALCMFollowing the one and half month of intense negotiations between the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) and Kale Aerospace, a subsidiary of the Kale Group, a US$25 Million R&DE contract regarding the design, development, manufacture, testing and delivery of indigenous turbojet engine prototypes was signed between Kale Aero and the SSM on February 22, 2o12 during a ceremony at the Kale Aero facilities in Tuzla, Istanbul. Kale Aero won the contract ahead of TEI, which has been working on turbojet engines (such as 55 lbf rated TJ-55 and 90 lbf rated TJ-90) for Unmanned Air Vehicles since 2oo4. Kale Aero is a member of F135 Supplier Team and has been delivering critical hardware for F135 engines to Pratt & Whitney since 2oo6. According to SSM officials Kale Aeoro’s victory over TEI is based on its lower bid and its experience in F135 engine component/parts design and manufacturing.The signing ceremony was attended by Deputy Defence Minister Hasan Kemal YARDIMCI, Undersecretary Murad BAYAR, Deputy Undersecretary and Head of Industrial Services Department Sedat GÜLDOĞAN, Head of SSM R&DE and Technology Management Department Zübeyde ÇAĞLAYAN, Founder and the Honorary President of the Kale Group İbrahim BODUR, Head of the Technical and Chemistry Department of Kale Group Osman OKYAY and Kale Aero Director Cemal İlhan ÖZAYDIN as well as high ranking guests from the SSSM and Turkish defence industries.The ‘Turbojet Engines Development Project’ of the Turkish Air Force (TuAF), cowering the design and manufacture of indigenous turbojet engines to power locally built cruise missiles, UAVs and jet powered target drones for TuAF, was launched by a Defence Industry Executive Committee (DIEC) decree on December 15, 2o1o, and during its January 5, 2o12 meeting, the DIEC, Turkey’s top decision making body on defence industrial procurement, authorized the SSM to initiate negotiation with Kale Aero, which was selected as a candidate Main Contractor company towards contract award.Under the terms of the contract, Kale Aero will design and manufacture around 1o turbojet engine prototypes under five phases and within 48 months and following the qualification tests they will be delivered to the TuAF. Serial Production of the indigenous turbojet engines will be performed under a separate contract. Kale Aero built indigenous turbojet engines will replace French Microturbo-made TR-40 turbojet engine currently used on Turkey’s first indigenous Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) dubbed as Stand-Off Munitions (SOM) and will lay the foundation for an integrated jet engine design and production capability for future projects, according to the ministry officials who were present at the signing ceremony. SOM ALCM is designed, developed and produced by TüBiTAK-SAGE, Defence Research and Development Institute of Turkey.Speaking at the ceremony Head of the Technical and Chemistry Department of Kale Group Osman OKYAY said that indigenous turbojet engine will serve as the propulsion system for guided missiles and with minor modifications it can be used as a propulsion system for UAVs and small class aircraft. OKYAY also stressed that they are targeting to complete project within 48 months and under five phases namely; Requirement Analysis, Preliminary Design, Detailed Design, Prototype Manufacturing and Qualification and added “Under the project 9 technical working groups will be formed and a total of 47 engineers, and academicians as well as 10 technicians will serve under these working groups. Under the project we will also collaborate with Istanbul Technical University and TüBiTAK. Within the scope of the project we will establish a new R&DE Laboratory, where the prototype manufacturing will take place and to perform a total of 26 comprehensive tests including 15 subsystem tests and 11 system tests.”Deputy Defence Minister Hasan Kemal YARDIMCI underlined that indigenous turbojet engine will initially power SOM cruise missile and will replace exported turbojet engine currently used on the missile and added “Such projects would cut foreign dependency in the defence industry and the Ministry always supported them and we wish these works would increase in number.”Speaking at the ceremony Undescretary Murad BAYAR stressed that the contract was awarded to Kale Aero following to a strong competition and the government has taken advantage of this completion in terms of project value and project duration and went off saying “Off course this is a technologically difficult project, requires serious work of engineering and high technology. Do not forget that there are only a couple of turbojet engine producers in the world and the technologies to be obtained under this project will lay important the foundations for the future projects. Though it is not an important project in terms of budget but we place great emphasis on this project.”According to Kale Aero officials indigenous turbojet engine will incorporate the best features of Microturbo’s TR-40 and the undisclosed US turbojet engine (believed to be Teledyne CAE J402 series) and will be in the 3.o kN to 3.6 kN (680 lbf to 810 lbf) thrust class. The engine will run on either JP8 or JP10 fuel and since the engine will be designed for a one-time use missile, its service life will be only 20 minutes.Indigenous Turbojet Engine Specifications:Type: Single Spool TurbojetMajor Applications: SOM cruise missile familyFully Functional Prototype Delivery: 2o16Length: 72 cmDiameter: 30 cmDry Weight: < 5o kgSpecific Fuel Consumption (SEC): < or = 1.2 kg/daN/hrCompressor: Various configurations will be studied during design phase including 4 stage axial, 5 stage axial and 1 axial and 1 radial compressor combination.Turbine: Single StageFuel Type: JP8, JP10Lubrication System: Grease Pack but fuel lubrication will also be studied.Generator: Permanent magnet based generator will be mounted on the engine shaft.Maximum Thrust: 3.0 - 3.6 kN (680 lbf – 810 lbf).
Though the missiles effective range was initially announced as 100 nm, (185km) speaking at the press meeting held at TüBiTAK Headquarters in Ankara on January 13, 2o12 to update press members on the recent developments on Turkey’s missile programs President of the TüBiTAK (The Scientific and Technological Researches Council of Turkey) Prof. Dr. Yücel ALTUNBAŞAK stated that
they have been carrying firing tests with SOM missile up to the range of 300 km and during recent test missile has successfully hit its target at 300 km with circular error probable (CEPs) of 5 meters, even they had goaled 1om CEP. He went on saying, “We are planning to perform 500 km (air launched version, ALCM) range firing tests in 2o12 with SOM. Later the range will be extended to 1.500km and eventually to 2.500 km (surface launched versions, LACM) in 2o14.” ALTUNBAŞAK, also underlined that the order for the extended range missile program had come from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN.
You can read here more about the domestic turbo jet engine develepment.
Monch Yay