AKBABA - THE VULTURE
THE POTENTIAL MOST EFFECTIVE ANTI DODE FOR AIR DEFENCE SYSTEMS
Next Gen. ramjet powered Anti-Radiation Missile named "AKBABA"
-------------------------------------------------------
The Russian anti-aircraft radar systems, BUK , TOR , PANTSIR & most famous being S-300 & S-400 - which have made it very challenging for the Ukrainian Air Force to fly over substantial portions of Ukrainian airspace, is also deployed by India.
Turkish Vulture missile will have unique capabilities as Turkiye has the first hand knowledge of employing S-400 Systems and developing anti-dodes for it with integration on UAVs such as Akinci , manned jets such as F-18s and KAAN.
In future - Akbaba missiles can be employed on JF-17C in future or on KAAN if selected for PAF to target & eliminate these systems.
Additionally, the missiles can hit Counter-battery radars, which India employs to attack Pakistani artillery.
-----------------------------------------------------
The Anti-radiation or H.A.R.M missile AKBABA , whose name was officially announced last year and whose development work continues by ROKETSAN , will have similar features to the AGM-88 HARM Missile. Information leaked to the Turkish Press claims that the missile will have capabilities that far surpass those of its competitors- can even track its target once radar is turned off.
Example is USAF The F-16C is the only aircraft in the Air Force current inventory to use the AGM-88.
Put simply, anti-radiation missiles (of this sort) home in on the radar air defense systems use to detect and engage incoming aircraft, making these missiles a valuable weapon in the initial days of a conflict when America’s warfare doctrine calls for establishing air superiority.
As radar arrays come online to detect incoming aircraft, those aircraft can fire high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARM) like the AARGM to follow the radio waves back to their source and destroy it.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The big innovation in the HARM was in its intelligent (radar) video processor based seeker, which was designed to recognise the characteristic Pulse Repetition Frequencies (PRF) of threat radars, in a manner similar to that performed by an RWR.
This would allow the missile to select a specific radar operating in any given band. Indeed, the HARM offered higher sensitivity and frequency coverage than many earlier RWRs in US service, and aircraft carrying the HARM often used it to supplement the RWR.
HARM : High-speed anti-radiation missile, is an air-to-surface tactical missile designed to seek and destroy enemy radar-equipped air defense systems.
The proportional guidance system that hones in on enemy radar emissions has a fixed antenna and seeker head in the missile nose. A smokeless, solid-propellant, dual-thrust rocket motor propels the missile.
SEAD : Mission planned for the neutralization of enemy radar and air defense systems as Priority targets in first phase. This allows Multi role jets to freely use A2G Weapons and Air Superiority sorties without potential missile threats from ground.
[Below : Wreckage Of Russian Tor SAM system after meeting AGM88 HARM anti radiation missile]
The AKBABA Missile, which will undertake the task of suppressing enemy air defense systems, is expected to be capable of attacking fixed or mobile targets such as ships on land or sea.
AKBABA anti-radiation missile needs only 4.2 seconds of active radar emission to identify and track its target. Even if radar is turned off Akbaba has ability to trace the route of the radar emission. Radar can then also be visually confirmed by data-link to central command.
Anti-radiation missiles are very difficult to detect and destroy with the Passive detection & supersonic speeds they can reach. Element of surprise for enemy AD as soon as their radars start emitting signals.
Since the AKBABA Missile project, like many other projects of Turkish Military, is carried out in secrecy with very less details , its actual features such as weight and range have not been disclosed yet.
However, the missile, which is expected to have a passive RF head and an AESA radar, is also among a few features that are claimed to be able to reach supersonic speeds and have Ramjet propulsion.
The anti-radiation missile AKBABA, produced by Roketsan, will be developed to be used in SEAD missions to suppress enemy air defense,
And the 151st Tunç Fleet, the fleet responsible for SEAD missions in Turkey, will use the locally produced AKBABA missile for this mission.
In addition, the AKBABA missile is planned to be integrated into the National Combat Aircraft KAAN, due to its versatile aircraft, and to be used in national unmanned warplanes, which are under development.
Four basic operating modes.
The Pre-Brief, Pre-Emptive or Position-Known (PB/PE/POS) mode is a Lock On After Launch (LOAL) mode, and is used for standoff maximum range attacks on emitters of a known type and location, within several degrees of the missile boresight. This is the basic mode used by dedicated defence suppression (SEAD) aircraft.
In PB/PE/POS mode, the aircraft's Emitter Locating System (ELS) determines the identity and position of the target, which are downloaded to the missile. The launch aircraft will then toss the missile to impart the best possible range. The missile flies on inertial guidance until it acquires the target, and then homes to impact. The PB/PE/POS mode is essentially offensive and most commonly used when taking down an IADS.
A sub-mode of the PB/PE/POS mode is Equations-Of-Motion (EOM) mode which allows more precise selection of emitters at maximum range, in a high density environment. The EOM mode is more specific than PB mode in terms of target selection, and can engage off axis if required, but requires more precise target position information than the baseline PB mode. The target position data can be provided by an onboard receiver or datalinked from an external source .
The Target Of Opportunity (TOO) mode, also termed the HARM as Sensor (HAS) or Direct Attack (DA) mode is a lock-on-before-launch (LOBL) mode in which the missile receiver is used before launch to acquire the target. This mode allows off axis attacks on emitters within the field of view of the seeker. It is typically used as an offensive mode by non-dedicated strike aircraft to suppress emitters.
Anticipated Features
- Weight: 350 - 380 kgs
- Length: 4.1 - 4.3 meters
- Block -1 Effective Range: 100+ kms
- Speed: 2+ Mach
- Guidance System: Passive radar
- Propulsion : Ramjet ?