17 January 2019

Aselsan signs for serial production of OMTAS IR seeker

by Robin Hughes

Turkish missile manufacturer Roketsan signed a contract on 10 January with local defence electronics house Aselsan for the serial production of an imaging infrared (IR) seeker to equip the new OMTAS 160 mm-calibre man-portable/vehicle-mounted medium-range anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) weapon system.

The contract, agreed in two values (TRY63 million [USD12 million] and EUR31.5 million [USD36 million]), totalling approximately USD47 million, provides for an undisclosed number of IR seekers to be delivered to Roketsan between 2019 and 2024.

Roketsan has signed a contract with Aselsan for serial production of the imaging IR seeker assembly for the new OMTAS ATGM system. (Robin Hughes)

OMTAS, development of which was finalised in August 2018, is intended, in the first instance, to meet a Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) requirement for an indigenously developed medium-range ATGM to replace its current 152 mm BGM-71 tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided (TOW) and 103 mm Milan wire-guided command to line-of-sight ATGM capabilities.

OMTAS is a day/night all-weather weapon system featuring direct-attack and top-attack modes and lock-on before launch, lock-on after launch, fire-and-forget, and fire-and-update operating modes. The missile is 1,800 mm in length (including the launch tube and forward and aft protection caps) and weighs 35 kg (including the launch tube).

Designed to engage stationary and moving armoured targets at ranges in excess of 4,000 m (with a minimum engagement range of 200 m), the new missile features a dual thrust (boost and sustain) rocket motor, an uncooled imaging IR seeker developed by Aselsan, and a high-explosive tandem charge warhead designed by TDW in Germany, and now being developed and produced by Roketsan in-house.

Turkish missile manufacturer Roketsan signed a contract on 10 January with local defence electroni...

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