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Why is Turkey Building Two Competing Air-to-Air Missiles at the Same Time?

The 2025 International Defence Exhibition and Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul saw the public debut for two distinct Turkish long-range, ramjet-powered air-to-air missile (LRAAM) programs: Roketsan's Gökbora and TÜBİTAK SAGE's Gökhan.

Roketsan Gokbora vs Tubitak-SAGE Gokhan


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The 2025 International Defence Exhibition and Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul saw the public debut for two distinct Turkish long-range, ramjet-powered air-to-air missile (LRAAM) programs: Roketsan’s Gökbora and TÜBİTAK SAGE’s Gökhan.

The decision to pursue two separate, resource-intensive development tracks for a similar capability reflects a sophisticated strategy designed to mitigate technological risk, drive a healthy level of competition, and create tailored solutions for the distinct requirements of Turkey’s current and future air fleets.

For the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Turkey’s dual-channel approach could offer a unique window for collaboration, not to address a capability gap, but to acquire deep insight of a major class of threat – i.e., the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) MBDA Meteor – and diversify its inventory with a system built on a different kinematic profile than its mainstay LRAAMs, like the PL-15E, SD-10, and AIM-120C5 AMRAAM.

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Bilal Khan

Bilal Khan

Founder of Quwa, Bilal has been researching Pakistani defence industry and security issues for over 15 years. His work has been cited by Pakistan's National Defence University (NDU), the Council of Foreign Relations, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Centre of Airpower Studies and many others. He has a Hons. B.A in Political Science and Masters of Interntional Public Policy from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

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