DIMDEX 2022: Atmaca to be modified for launch from submarines and VLS

Atmaca anti-ship missile displayed at DIMDEX 2022, in Doha, Qatar. (Shaurav Gairola)

Turkish missile manufacturer Roketsan intends to enhance the versatility of the Atmaca anti-ship missile in the future with submarine and vertical launch system (VLS) options in conjunction with imaging infrared seekers and dual seekers, a company spokesperson confirmed to Janes at the DIMDEX naval exhibition, held in Doha in late March.

Atmaca, which was on display at DIMDEX, will be part of the Turkish Navy‘s inventory subsequent to successful completion of ongoing firing tests of the missile.

The development of Atmaca commenced in 2009. The first test firing of the missile was undertaken in October 2017 from a shore-based test facility near Sinop, on Turkey‘s Black Sea coast. This was followed by the first sea-launched test firing from the Turkish Navy's Ada-class (MILGEM) corvette TCG Kınalıada in November 2019 at an undisclosed location in the Black Sea. In February 2021 Atmaca was test-fired with a live warhead for the first time from Kınalıada.

The all-weather missile is integrated with anti-countermeasures features, target update, retarget, mission cancellation, and re-attack capabilities. It features an active radar seeker and multimode guidance combining Global Positioning System (GPS), inertial navigation system (INS), a 3D mission planning capability, and barometric and radar altimeter.

Atmaca weighs less than 750 kg, is 4.3–5.2 m in length, and has a range in excess of 220 km. The missile has been developed with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead with effective penetration.