Turkey Successfully Tests Gökdoğan Air-to-Air Missile, Able To Hit Invisible Target

Illustration of Bozdoğan and Gökdoğan air-to-air missiles on a fighter plane. (Source: TÜBITAK SAGE via Daily Sabah)

JAKARTA - Turkey successfully conducted a test-fire of the domestically developed Gökdoğan (BVRAAM) air-to-air missile, the head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), Ismail Demir, said on Sunday.

Gökdoğan was developed by the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK), Defense Industry Research and Development Institute (SAGE) as part of the Göktuğ project.

"The Gökdoğan will hit the unseen! Within the scope of our Göktuğ project, our Gökdoğan Outer Vision Missile, one of our national air-to-air missiles, was fired with a radar seeker and other important steps have been completed," Demir wrote on his Twitter account. Daily Sabah July 10.

"We will deliver our Gökdoğan and Bozdoğan missiles to the Turkish Armed Forces this year. This is a holiday gift for our nation," he added.

Turkey is known to have been one of the few countries to have air-to-air missile technology with the Gökdoğan, within visual range air-to-air missile (WVRAAM) with the Bozdoğan.

SAGE's work on air-to-air missiles began in 2013. It developed the Gökdoğan as a short-range, high-maneuverability, infra-red seeker, and the Bozdoğan as an active long-range radar-seeking missile.

Both missiles are equipped with solid fuel technology with low smoke thrust, fully electronic rocket engines, safe start and ignition systems with a high level of reliability and safety, as well as continuous fuses for high safety and reliability.