Turkey’s first domestically-made cruise missile with a penetrating warhead successfully completed its test firing, Science and Industry Minister Mustafa Varank announced 6 September 2019 .
Developed by the Defense Research and Development Institute (SAGE) of Turkey’s Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK), test fired the SOM-B2 missile — a high explosive blast fragmentation warhead variant of the stand-off missile (SOM).
With its modular design, which supports operational flexibility, Stand Off Missile (SOM) is an air-to-surface cruise missile family product used against highly defended stationary and moving land/surface targets
Science and Induatry Minister Varank shared a video on his Twitter account that showed the missile successfully hitting its target, which was a bunker with a concrete roof.
According to Ismail Demir, the head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), with the latest test firing, SOM-B2 successfully concluded its development, ground and flight tests.
The missile will be used by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) against hardened targets or targets buried deep underground.
The missiles have an operational range of more than 250 kilometers and offer low visibility, high precision, resistance/endurance against mixing measures, network-based movement suitability, engagement with opportunity targets and selection between pre-planned tasks and target definition during flight, selectable stroke parameters and universal weapon interface compatibility.
Variants
The SOM missile family, designed for use against ground and sea targets, comes in different variants including the SOM-A, SOM-B1, SOM-B2, and SOM-J.
SOM-J Stand Off Missile for Joint Strike Fighter
Lockheed Martin and Turkey’s Roketsan are partnered to cooperatively develop and manufacture SOM-J for integration into the F-35 internal weapons bay and for external carriage on various fighter aircraft.
SOM-J is a next-generation, medium-range, all-weather air-to-surface standoff cruise missile. Stealthy and precise, SOM-J is designed for use against heavily defended, high-value anti-surface warfare (ASuW) and land targets. These include surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites, exposed aircraft, strategic assets, command and control centers and naval vessels.
Air-launched Variant SOM-J
The Joint Strike Fighter F-35s can carry 4 pieces of SOM-J standoff(cruise) missiles in its body developed to allow pilots to hit targets at long range distances while maintaining critical invisibility during stealth flights. Especially designed to be used against intensely protected land and sea targets, the SOM-J missile has a 185-km range. Flying very low within this altitude and without being detected by a radar, the SOM-J, by monitoring ground shapes with its navigation system, can hit its target with a high strike rate. The SOM-J, with its high-resolution viewer and infra-red seeker head, provides sensitive targeting and allows for target change subsequent to the strike with the coordination of airborne warning control aircrafts. In the same way, changes in the target strike angle and approach altitude are possible during the flight. Developed to withstand electronic jamming measures, the SOM-J missile is one of the most important strike forces of the F-35 fighter aircraft that will be used by many allied countries also including Turkey as a project partner.
A Low Cost, Highly Lethal Solution
SOM-J’s modular design supports mission flexibility. With largest-in-class warhead effects, SOM-J complements other long-range weapon systems and provides an affordable solution to maximize stealth, standoff and F-35 endurance across the battlespace.
SOM-J is an air-to-surface missile to be used against heavily defended, high-value ASuW and land targets. Lockheed Martin is teamed with Roketsan and is delivering experience and expertise to the SOM-J development team for F-35 internal carriage integration.
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