We have pointed out that the Turkish military industry has made significant progress in recent years, not only in the field of creating weapons systems but also in the development of indigenous missile systems and ammunition.
In particular, the development and production of indigenous ammunition during military operations is of great importance, since it gives Turkey the possibility of uninterrupted production, with the result that Ankara does not need ammunition imported from other countries for its continuation, in case of exhaustion of the original existing of her stock.
The above is burdensome for our country in case of military involvement with Turkey, since so far we do not have the possibility to hit the entire Turkish territory with the weapon systems and ammunition available in its arsenal, with the result that the Turkish military industry is able to continue its production.
Finally, Turkey gives special importance to the development of its Navy with the construction of new warships and ammunition, in order to achieve maritime sovereignty in the Aegean and SE Mediterranean, to serve the ideology of the "Blue Homeland".
The Turks equipped their Corvette for the first time with the ATMACA anti-ship missile
In this framework, "the equipment of the TCG KINALIADA Corvette (F-514) with the indigenous anti-ship missile ATMACA" is included, as stated on its official website by the Turkish military industry, pointing out:
"TCG KINALIADA Corvette, the last ship of the MİLGEM ADA Class Corvette project, was equipped with the ATMACA anti-ship missile developed by Roketsan with national funds.
Thus, the dependence of the Turkish Navy on the American HARPOON missile is ended.
In the announcement of the Turkish Naval Forces Administration on the matter it is stated:
“The first surface-to-surface transfer of the ATMACA G/M Weapon System to a ship was successfully carried out on February 10, 2023 on TCG KINALIADA (F-514). May the domestic and national guided missile ATMACA be beneficial to our Navy and our Nation.”
In our news dated December 5, 2022, we announced that the ATMACA anti-ship missile entered the inventory of the Turkish Navy. The first offshore platform to use ATMACA was the Corvette TCG KINALIADA.
The first sea-based test of the ATMACA missile against a ship target was carried out by the corvette in question in 2021.
The ATMACA program
The ATMACA program was launched in 2009, with the aim of meeting the anti-ship missile needs of the Turkish Naval Forces Command with domestic and national resources.
In this context, the 220+ km range ATMACA anti-ship missile with Active Radar Seeker (AR), developed under the prime contractor Roketsan, was first fired from the MİLGEM TCG KINALIADA (F-514) Corvette in November 2019. after extensive testing.
During this firing test, the ATMACA successfully hit a fixed target on the sea surface.
During another test conducted on June 18, 2021, the ATMACA missile hit a real ship target for the first time. The target ship sank after being hit by the ATMACA missile.
The ATMACA anti-ship missile, which will replace the 140 km range Harpoon (US) anti-ship missiles in the Turkish Naval Command's arsenal, has a range of 220+ km.
ATMACA anti-ship missile
Since it has a low radar cross-section and can fly close to the surface of the water, the target can be detected by an enemy ship at a distance of 18-20 kilometers. Based on the ATMACA's speed of Mach 0.85, this gives the target ship's crew very limited reaction time.
For this reason, it is believed that the enemy vessel targeted by the ATMACA will not be able to eliminate it easily.
Also the ATMACA anti-ship missile has "Advanced 3D Mission Planning" capability. Thanks to this feature, the ATMACA operator crew can plan in advance the path the missile will take to its destination and add elements of its path taking into account that the enemy target ship is behind an island in the " Sea of Islands".
ATMACA can circle the island in front of the sea target or destroy it by suddenly ascending and descending.
At the same time, ATMACA, which has the KEMENT Tactical Data Link developed by Meteksan Defense, can update its route information even after launch.
In addition, ``versions'' of ATMACA are being developed, both land-to-land and submarine-to-surface.
