The pedestal-mounted air defense system Sungur, domestically developed by Turkey’s leading defense firm Roketsan, is ready to enter into the security forces’ inventory, Defense Industries Presidency (Savunma Sanayii BaÅŸkanlığı /SSB) head Ismail Demir said Wednesday. Sungur, described by Demir as the new member of the country’s progressive air defense system, will be integrated in land, air and sea platforms with its portable feature. The system is expected to replace similar systems purchased from abroad. Sungur has superior capabilities than the FIM-92 Stinger air defence missile, which is also actively used in the Turkish Armed Forces inventory. The use of Sungur planned as vehicle-based is on the agenda.
Developed by the studies of Roketsan and local subcontractors, Sungur is a low altitude air defence missile. In the announcement of the SSB, the system, which is stated to be successful in live-fire trials and ready to enter inventory, can be launched from moving vehicles. In addition to these, Sungur can be used in all kinds of ambient conditions including day and night; it can be integrated into land, air and sea platforms. In addition to launching 360 degrees, the system has the capability of target detection, diagnosis, identification and tracking. The ammunition used in the system has the Titanium warhead technology, which is also used in AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.
Sungur is dubbed as PORSAV, the National ManPADS is a fully autonomous ‘fire and forget’ missile equipped with a two-stage (booster motor and sustainer motor) solid propellant rocket motor and features Aselsan’s cooled Imaging Infrared (IIR) type seeker head (believed to operate in the three to five-micron waveband). The PORSAV is expected to be effective up to the altitude of 4km and a range of 6km+. The missile is believed to be armed with a 3kg high-explosive warhead (as in the case with Stinger missile) loaded with tungsten ball projectiles. As the lowest level unit of Turkey’s layered air and missile defence capability the PORSAV has been undergoing development since 2013.
