Turkish "Atmaca" Anti-Ship Cruise Missile For Project MilliGemi Ships

The Turkish military does not boast the world's most advanced gear for precision strikes but a number of local programs are progressing, signaling reduced future dependence on foreign systems.

Turkish officials recently reported "critical progress" in three systems they have been developing over the past years.

Procurement officials said the first critical firing tests for the Atmaca, a Turkish anti-ship missile, went "extremely successful."

The Atmaca is a radar-guided anti-ship cruise missile with a range of 120 miles. When the program took off in 2009, the idea was to build an indigenous anti-ship missile "with features similar to the Exocet."

But during its development phase Turkish authorities decided that the Atmaca instead should look like the Harpoon Block II, which is already in the Turkish inventory.

"There is an understanding that the Atmaca will eventually replace the Harpoon," said one procurement official familiar with the program.

The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system, developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). It was introduced in 1977. The Harpoon system also has a land-strike variant, the Standoff Land Attack Missile.

The regular Harpoon uses active radar homing and a low-level, sea-skimming cruise trajectory to improve survivability and lethality.

"The Atmaca will help us move forward to our goal of achieving maximum lethality with minimum cost," said one Navy official. "That target is essential for countries like Turkey that have budgetary constraints."

An Ankara-based analyst said the military is aiming at a "better and cheaper hit" as the local industry has advanced in several indigenous programs over the past years.

"The successful first firing test was a good sign, cementing the military's trust in an industry that is new at developing such capabilities," he said.

The procurement official said the first deliveries of the Atmaca will start at the end of 2016. The first Atmacas will be outfitted to Turkey's Milgem corvettes and frigates.

The missile system is being developed by a team of Roketsan, a state-controlled missile maker; military specialist Aselsan, Turkey's biggest defense company; and ARMERKOM, an Istanbul-based research and development unit of the Turkish Navy.

Pakistan Navy Operation "SEASPARK - 15"

Missile Launch was conducted as part of ongoing Exercise Sea-Spark 2015.

Artists' Impression of Block-II JF-17 Thunder of PAF

JF-17 Thunder Block-II - An artist's impression

JF-17 Thunder Block-II - A Beast in Making

• SD-10A – Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile

• C-802AK – Multirole Attack Cruise Missile

• Ra’ad – Stealth Stand off Cruise Missile (Nuclear Capable)

• MAR-1 – Anti Radiation Missile

• CM-400AKG – Hypersonic Carrier Killer

• CBU-100 – Anti Armor Cluster Bombs

• GBU-10/12 – LT-2 – Laser Guided Smart Munitions

• LS-6 – GPS Guided Direct Attack Munitions.

• Hafr-4 – Anti Runway Bomb

• Hafr-2 – Electro Optical Guided Glide Bomb

• LS-Series – Satellite Guided Glide Munitions
  
• Takbir Satellite Guided Stand off Munition

MBDA to Develop FASGW(H)/ANL: The Next Generation ANGLO-FRENCH Anti-Ship Missile

This new programme will lead to shared centres of excellence between both countries.

MBDA welcomes the signature of the Demonstration and Manufacture contract for the FASGW(H)/ANL (Future Anti Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy)/ Anti Navire Léger) missile on 26th March 2014. This jointly funded Anglo-French contract, valued at more than £500 million (€600 million) has been awarded to MBDA by the UK DE&S (Defence Equipment & Support) on behalf of the French and UK MODs and will be managed as part of MBDA’s Team Complex Weapons Portfolio. The work will complete the joint assessment and missile design work funded by the two nations in cooperation since 2009.

By working in concert and bringing together their respective strengths, Britain and France will not only achieve a more cost effective solution to their military needs, they will also help to strengthen MBDA’s position in confronting worldwide competition. Similarly this will also benefit the capability and export potential of those European helicopter platforms which will integrate the FASGW(H)/ANL system over the coming years.

Antoine Bouvier, CEO of MBDA said: “This programme initiates a new era of cooperation that will allow significant efficiencies on future programmes. Instead of combining their efforts programme by programme, as has been the case up to now, France and the UK will coordinate their development and acquisition approach to eliminate duplication in the missile sector. The benefits in terms of competitiveness and performance, which MBDA has already demonstrated with its principal cooperative programmes (Aster, Storm Shadow/SCALP, Meteor), will accrue in due course to more and more of our French and UK products. A decisive step has been made towards the reinforcement and sustainability of the missile industry sector in Europe. This development also ensures a long-term commitment to our armed forces customers with regard to their security of supply based on mutual access to sovereign technologies”.

FASGW(H)/ANL will equip the Royal Navy’s AW159 Lynx Wildcat helicopters and the French Navy’s maritime helicopters. Weighing around 100kg, this modern primarily anti-ship missile will destroy from safe stand-off ranges vessels ranging from FIAC (Fast Inshore Attack Craft), through medium sized FAC (Fast Attack Craft) up to large vessels such as Corvettes. This missile also has a surface attack capability against coastal and land targets.

This joint programme will deliver an enhanced capability to replace existing and legacy systems such as the UK-developed Sea Skua and the French-developed AS15TT anti-ship missiles. It also puts into practice the new cooperative principles agreed by France and the UK during the summit meetings held between the countries’ governments in November 2010, February 2012 and the Brize Norton summit on the 31st January 2014. These principles extend to the creation of Centres of Excellence common to the two countries. While optimising operational efficiency at the industrial level, this approach will also preserve the technology sovereignty of both countries.

Suitable for both blue water and cluttered littoral operations, FASGW(H)/ANL represents a major advance from a technological standpoint. This new system provides very precise effects against a wide range of threats, even in complex environments, thus satisfying a recognised and common future need. A high speed, two-way data-link communicates the images “seen” by the missile’s seeker to the operator, who, in addition to initiating an autonomous engagement, can alternatively remain in control of the missile throughout the full duration of its flight. This optional, man-in-the-loop, monitor-and-control facility, enables new capabilities such as: in-flight re-targeting; final aim point correction and refinement; or safe abort. Ultimately, the missile will be able to engage targets situated out of direct line of sight when the launch platform is able to benefit from third party target designation techniques, for example laser illumination.

Naval Weapons - Anti-Ship Missiles - The Kowsar, Noor and Raad

Anti-Ship Missiles

Kowsar ASM

The Kowsar is the lightest of the 3 main ASM’s in the Iranian arsenal, being able to be launched from either land on mobile platforms, or from sea from the missile version of the IPS-16 fast attack craft (FAC). It comes in two main variants with a third in development. 

Kowsar ASM

The first model is the Kowsar-1 and is identical to the Chinese C-701. Being the lightest of the missiles, it is not intended to engage targets with displacements greater then 180 tons of displacement meaning that the targets in theory would be limited to amphibious landing craft and auxiliary support craft.(1) However, in 2006, Hezbollah was able to deploy a C-701 successfully against the INS Hanit, a corvette with roughly 10000 tons of displacement, in other words, a craft 5 times as large as the acceptable target. The warhead is fairly conventional, with 29 kg of armor piercing high explosive. Guidance during the boost stage consists of inertial navigation which consists of calculating the approximate position of the target. Unlike other ASM’s, the Kowsar-1 does not climb to enter a cruise phase after launch, but rather remains at a fairly constant height of about 15 meters. Once it enters the immediate vicinity of the target, it switches over to TV guidance which would then have to be manually guided onto the correct target. The TV guidance can be replaced with an infrared seeker.
 

Kowsar 1

• Range: 25 km
• Length: 2.5 m
• Missile Weight: 100 kg
• Warhead: 29 kg
• Speed: Mach .8
• Guidance:
o Cruise Phase: INS
o Terminal Guidance: TV Imaging, IR

The second model, the Kowsar-2 is physically identical to the Kowsar-1, however the difference comes in the terminal guidance. The limiting factor of the Kowsar-1 was the TV or IR seeker which meant that the operator would have to stay with the missile the whole way until the target, which in turn meant that its usability on anything else besides a stationary launcher would be unfeasible. This meant that the operators were increasingly vulnerable to counterattacks from all angles. The solution to that was to replace the TV/IR seeker with a ‘millimetre-wave radar’ which is a type of active homing radar that is activated in the terminal phase and automatically scans for the target, allowing the operator to leave the area once the missile is fired, this then allows the missile to be fired from platforms like the upgraded IPS-16.

Kowsar 2

• Range: 25 km
• Length: 2.5 m
• Missile Weigh: 100 kg
• Warhead: 29 kg
• Speed: Mach .8
• Guidance:
o Cruise Phase: INS
o Terminal Guidance: Millimetre-wave radar
• Alterations
o Replacement of terminal guidance with active radar

Noor ASM

The Noor is the bigger brother to the Kowsar. It is the most common missile in the IRGCN’s arsenal and is found on land based launchers, the Thondar and Kaman class missile boats as well as most larger IRIN vessels such as the Alvand and Mowj. 

Noor missile in Holly Defence Exhibition

 It comes in sets of 4 on each of the respective ships, while two can be fired from the Mi-17 and the F-4, while 4 can be allegedly carried on the Su-24, although no pictures of the latter have been unearthed. Like, the Kowsar, it also comes in two main variants, with a third in development. It is in the same class as the more famous Excocet missile.

The Noor-1, is copy of the C-801, the precursor to the C-802. The larger 165 kg warhead as compared to the Kowsar, means that it is most useful against frigates, cruisers and destroyers such as the ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ and ‘Ticonderoga’ class of ships found in the USN 5th fleet that patrols the Persian Gulf. The largest ship sunk ever successfully sunk, albeit a test, has 10,000 tons of displacement, which is 2000 pounds greater then the Ticonderoga cruiser, the most formidable of the US destroyers. In the early ‘90’s, Iran received 200 C-801’s along with 8 launchers, at that point Iran began to reverse engineer them under the name “Tondar”, eventually it morphed into the Noor-1 project. In the late ‘90’s, Iran adapted them to fire from an F-4. The guidance and flight profile is presumably the same as the C-802. After cruising speed of mach .9 is achieved through a boost motor, it flies at 20-30 meters cruising altitude. Inertial guidance, as with the Kowsar, guides the missile to the target. When entering terminal phase, the two seeker systems activate, the first is the monopulse active radar much like the radar in the Kowsar, the second is an IR seeker that was originally squeezed into the large housing of the original missile as an after market addition, however its usefulness soon led it to become standard equipment. A sharp drop then happens, from 20-30 metres to 5-7 meters above the sea level, maintained by the radio or laser altimeter. This has the advantage of making it near invisible to the target ship because it is below the detection range, especially combined with the integrated jamming capabilities and low radar signature. The missile is driven with kinetic energy through the hull where a delayed fuze allowing the missile to explode within the target vessel.

Noor 1

• Range: 40 km
• Length: 6.5 m
• Missile Weight: 715+ kg
• Warhead: 165 kg
• Speed: .9 mach
• Guidance: Inertial in cruise with monopulse active radar and IR Seeker in terminal

The Noor-2 replaced the original solid fuel rocket of the Noor-1 with a much more powerful turbojet. However the actual range gained is somewhat contentious, some use set figure of 120 km found on the C-802(on which the Noor-2 is a loose copy of). However some cite the domestic modifications to the Microturbo TRI 60-2 powerplant as evidence that the range was extended, and in 2006, during the ‘Blow of Zolfaqar’ wargames, commanders were quoted as saying it was 200 km. However the latter number is cast into doubt when the rest of the article mentions that the missile was only ever fired from warships, whereas in 1997, the Noor-1 was tested from an F-4.  The most likely range is somewhere around 170 km as it fits in line with the upgrades and domestic production of the turbojet, under the name of Tolloue 4 and 5.(8) Although the missile is overall lighter then the Noor-1 due to reduction in the solid fuel, the warhead remains the same packing the same punch, as do the targeting mechanisms remain unchanged. There are several key changes however. First, in the terminal phase, an upgraded altimeter allows the missile to hug the water closer, staying 3-5 meters above the surface. Second, the option of having a ‘pop-up’ attack pattern was also introduced by Chinese partners in 2006. A ‘pop-up’ pattern involves an immediate jump by the missile in the last few seconds allowing the missile to dive deep into the deck of the target. Third is the introduction of manoeuvring algorithms to make it harder for active ship defences to stop the missile. 

Noor 2

• Range: 170 km (140-200 km possible)
• Length: 6.5 m
• Missile Weight: 715+ kg
• Warhead: 165 kg
• Speed: .9 mach
• Guidance
o Cruise: Inertial
o Terminal: DM-3BMonopulse active radar and IR Seeker
• Alterations
o Turbojet engine
o Lower altitude in terminal phase
o Introduction of manoeuvring and ‘pop-up’ attack options

Raad ASM

The largest of Iran’s anti ship missiles, the Raad also has the longest range. It can be fired from a multitude of platforms including static defences, self-propelled tracked vehicles, presumably delivered from North Korea, or from a truck, much like the ones seen launching Kowsars. Developed from the body of the Chinese HY-2 Silkworm, the Raad, however, has seen many improvements most prominently in the seeker and propulsion. The first of the changes include replacing the conical scanning radar and IR imaging with the "brains” of the Noor missile (DM-3B radar) with the end result that the missile becomes of skimming the sea at about 3-5 meters, compared to 8 of the HY-2, a substantial amount when considering a targets countermeasures. It also means that it will be capable of last minute evasive maneuvers and execute a ‘pop-up’ attack on the deck of the target. 

Raad ASM

 Although, they will be notably harder with a missile with the aerodynamics of the 3,000 kg missile compared to the 715 kg Noor. It undoubtedly presents other difficulties of meshing the two systems, but they have presumably been fixed due to successful tests. The second main alteration is engine. Public perception is that the Raad is powered by the Tolou-4, the same powerplant as in the Noor. However this is intuitively unlikely given that the Tolou-4 was designed to propel a much smaller (715 kg) missile. Another indicator is looking at the extremely prominent ducts on the Raad compared to the extremely recessed ducts on the Noor. Rather, the more likely candidate is the Tolou-5 upgrade which is described as being much more powerful then its predecessor, although it was only in the prototype stage in 2005, meaning it would have had to of progressed extremely fast for them to appear in the 2007 wargames.

Other then the above modifications, the Raad acts very much like the HY-2 from which it was derived, it is fired with the help of a solid rocket booster, quickly climbing to 1,000 meters, then descending to slightly less then 20 meters for cruising under inertial guidance. When, in terminal phase the active radar is switched on, and the missile descends to about 4 meters to skim the surface of the water and eventually strike the target. Packed with over 300 kg of high explosive in a shaped charge, it is designed for use against the massive destroyers of western fleets. (13) Meanwhile, the 360 km range would literally leaving no part of the gulf untouched.

• Range: 360 km
• Length: 7.48 m
• Missile Weight: 2,998 kg
• Warhead: 315 kg
• Speed: .8 mach
o Guidance: Inertial in cruise, DM-3BMonopulse active radar and possibly IR seeker in terminal.

Other missiles

Navigating Irans inventory of equipment is metaphorical minefield of what exists and what only exists as prototypes, and what is rhetoric. Consequently there are a few missiles which may or may not exist depending on whom you talk to. The biggest example of this is the anti-ship missile which was recently announced this month. It was announced by “experts from the Iranian Armed Forces in charge of the project” as an air-to-ship missile weighing 500 kg (presumably the whole missile, not just the warhead) and having a range of 110 km, and being radar guided. Whatever this missile is, its roughly in the same class as the Noor, although having shorter range. Some think it is just another test or variation of the Noor missile, but if this were true it would have to definitely another version due to the dramatic reduction in weight (change of 200 kg) with a similar reduction in range(change of 60 km). Logically it could just be the Noor with a smaller fuel load, leading to both a reduction in weight and range. The only purpose though would be more efficient transportation by the weapons carrying platform, most likely and F-4 or Su-24, although it could have been specifically designed for an F-5 as a normal Noor may have been thought to be too large.