Turkish weapons manufacturer company Roketsan has developed a High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) for Turkey’s indigenous TF-X fighter jet. The Akbaba (Vulture), was included in the ammunitions list of the TF-X at a Turkish Air Force briefing on June 30. The Akbaba program is classified, but a company official said the missiles will replace the batch of about 100 AGM-88 HARM missiles in the Air Force’s inventory. the Akbaba will be used by the 151st “Bronze” Squadron — a unit that specializes in using the HARM weapons when operating F-16C/D Fighting Falcons.
The AGM-88 HARM (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile) is a tactical, air-to-surface anti-radiation missile designed to home in on electronic transmissions coming from surface-to-air radar systems. It was originally developed by Texas Instruments as a replacement for the AGM-45 Shrike and AGM-78 Standard ARM system. Production was later taken over by Raytheon Corporation when it purchased the defense production business of Texas Instruments.
Roketsan is a major Turkish weapons manufacturer and defense contractor based in Ankara. Incorporated in 1988 by Turkey’s Defense Industry Executive Committee (SSÄ°K) to establish the nation’s industrial base on missile technology, the company has quickly risen to become one of Turkey’s top 500 industrial corporations. Roketsan is best known for its vast range of guided and unguided rockets as well as guided missiles such as Bora, Atmaca, Cirit, UMTAS and OMTAS.
