IDEF 2023: Armelsan develops Turkey's first locally designed helicopter dipping sonar

Armelsan's Orkun 2053 helicopter dipping sonar on display at IDEF 2023. (Janes/Prathamesh Karle)

Turkey's Armelsan Defence Technologies displayed for the first time a scale model of its locally designed and developed Orkun-2053 helicopter dipping sonar at the 16th International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF), held from 25 to 28 July in Istanbul.

The sonar is designed for operating in both deep and shallow waters. The overall weight of the system – including the winch and the cable – is around 270 kg. It has an operating depth of 350 m and is designed to be equipped for 10 tonne-class helicopters, Armelsan's business development director Erdem Tumdag told Janes.

Development of the sonar began in 2021 after Turkey's Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) expressed the need for developing a helicopter dipping sonar.

The Orkun-2053 is a low-frequency passive/active sonar operating in the 3–5 kHz frequency range. The system also features the elimination of Doppler shift induced from the mobile signal source.

The transmission includes frequency-modulated (FM) and continuous-wave (CW) modes along with a combination (FM/CW) signal. The sonar has a detection range of 50 km, with range scales calibrated to 1.5–48 km.

The design of the body includes a folding section of the upper array, which emerges on folding arms. It extends to form an umbrella structure with a diameter of 90 cm, and a diameter of 30 cm when folded.