Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler then stated: “We intend to use it only as a deterrent. However, if the need arises, no one can doubt that we will deploy it.” The Financial Times noted that he probably did not know about the targets on the video.
The Turkish Defense Ministry added that the missile, capable of flying at 25 times the speed of sound, is still under development: “Laboratory tests of the Yildirimhan missile system, which can carry a warhead weighing up to three tons, have been successfully completed. Field tests are continuing.”
If the announced parameters correspond to reality, Turkey, which devotes large resources to the development of military technology, would thus be included among several countries that have their own intercontinental ballistic missiles, such as the USA, Russia or China and India or the DPRK, as well as Israel.
If this is already the case, only a test can confirm it, which is a problem given the missile’s range and Turkey’s position. Like the DPRK, it can use an almost perpendicular trajectory, when the range is calculated in the case of a ballistic curve with a smaller angle. However, Ankara is considering building a spaceport in Somalia, which it is striving for. Then it could fire missiles into the Indian Ocean.
Doubts
Although Turkey is the eleventh largest arms exporter, one Western defense official said: “It is exaggerated, the Turkish defense industry has many capabilities and is improving rapidly, but it is not yet at this level.”
“It looks very ambitious and controversial,” added Fabian Hoffman, a rocket expert from the University of Oslo.
Turkey has no experience in the development of strategic ballistic missiles, so far it has only produced Tayfun (Bora-2) short-range ballistic missiles, the range of which has been extended from the original 300 km to 1000 km in the Block IV version. It is a derivative of the Chinese B-611 rocket.
Atypical single-stage construction
Apparently, due to less experience with the development of ballistic missiles, Yildirimhan has an atypical concept, The War Zone server pointed out. Intercontinental ballistic missiles are mostly multi-stage, but the Turkish one is only single-stage.
It is powered by four rocket engines burning liquid fuel – hydrazine. The oxidizing agent is dinitrogen tetraoxide (N2O4). The use of liquid fuel means a longer preparation for launch, because the rocket’s tanks must be filled. Fuel cannot remain in them for a long time. But the Turkish Ministry of Defense stated that Yildirimhan can be launched from mobile ramps. The warhead should have a weight of 3000 kg, which indicates that it is intended to destroy bunkers.
It is not yet clear when the rocket should be included in the armament. Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler only said that the development of the rocket took ten years. Turkish media reports that the fuel is already being produced and the warhead is under development.
Turkey does not need a missile with such a range because it is a member of NATO and is protected by the American nuclear umbrella. Yildirimhan shows that Turkey intends to use a policy of deterrence with the help of an arsenal of missiles, which is already used by Iran.
The desire for longer-range missiles
Turkey is pursuing weapons with a longer range. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has previously called for the development of ballistic missiles with a range of 2,000 km, i.e. the medium-range missile category. The last variant of the Tayfun Block 4 missile tested last year has a theoretical range of up to 1,000 km, so the whole of Greece and most of Israel are within its reach, although only 600 km has been confirmed in practice.
Turkey subsequently announced the development of a medium-range Cenk missile with a range of 2,000 km, which would be able to hit a large part of Iran without any problems. However, only a missile with a range of 3000 km would be able to hit most countries in the Middle East. But Yildirimhan will hit all opponents of Turkey and some of their supporters.
The Turkish defense industry has undergone great development in the last quarter of a century, which concerns not only heavy equipment and drones, but also missiles and missiles with a flat flight path. It earns from exports, because exports are not limited by any restrictions, such as the American ITAR.
In the case of missiles, however, it is more complicated, Turkey is a member of the missile control organization MTCR, which restricts the export of missiles with a range of over 300 km and a warhead heavier than 450 kg.
The War Zone does not rule out the possibility that Turkey could also seek to develop a nuclear warhead in the interest of deterrence, which would increase its deterrence capabilities and confirm its status as a great power that can lead an independent policy.
