On 06 November 2021, Turkey’s Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) announced that the country test-fired its ‘SIPER’ long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM).
The SSB announced the test through Twitter. In a statement, the head of the SSB, Dr. Ismail Demir, stated that the test firing was a key stage in the development of the SIPER. The tweet includes a video of the test firing from Roketsan, one of the primary Turkish contractors of the SIPER program.
Roketsan carried out the test firing at an instrumented weapons range in the Sinop province, which is by the Black Sea. Turkey is working to induct the SIPER by 2023.
According to Demir (via an interview with the Daily Sabah), the SIPER relies on a dual-pulse motor rocket (DPMR) for propulsion. It can use an active radar-homing (ARH) and imaging infrared (IIR) seekers. Turkish officials did not disclose the SIPER’s range, but it will likely be around 100 km.
Turkey started the SIPER program following the collapse of its deal to purchase the HQ-9 due to pressure from NATO in 2015. While Ankara ultimately shunned NATO’s concerns by ordering the S-400 from Russia, it went ahead with an indigenous long-range SAM program. In 2018, Turkey’s top munitions manufacturer Roketsan, electronics vendor Aselsan, and R&D arm TÜBİTAK SAGE officially partnered to start the SIPER.
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