UMTAS (Uzun Menzilli Tanksavar Sistemi) or Mizrak-U is a long range air-to-surface anti-tank missile developed by Turkish armor and missile manufacturer Roketsan. The UMTAS program was initiated in 2005 by Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM), specifically to provide T-129 ATAK and AH-1W Cobra attack helicopters with an indigenous guided missile. The UMTAS has been designed to engage tanks and heavily armoured vehicles. They are also suitable for other air, ground and sea-based platforms such as light assault aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, fixed ground platforms, infantry fighting vehicles and Sikorsky SH-60B maritime helicopter.
The UMTAS precision-guided missile has a length of 1.8m and a diameter of 160mm, and weighs 37.5kg. It features four short wings mounted in the middle section and four aerodynamic control fins in the tail section for flight control. A nose-mounted imaging infrared (IIR) seeker or laser seeker provides high-target accuracy for the anti-tank weapon. The missile has the ability to operate in both fire-and-forget and fire-and-update operation modes. The fire-and-forget mode enables the weapon to travel on its own path after illumination of the target. The UMTAS missile system also features lock-on before launch and lock-on after launch capabilities.
The air and surface-launched UMTAS missile incorporates high-explosive tandem-charge warhead, which provides high lethality against modern main battle tanks equipped with modern explosive reactive armour. Weighing approximately 60kg, the UMTAS missile launcher can carry up to four long-range anti-tank missiles. Powered by HTPB-based smokeless composite solid propellant, the UMTAS anti-tank missile has an effective firing range between 0.5km and 8km. The missile is capable of engaging enemy armoured targets and mechanised units under all weather conditions, both during the day and at night.
