New close-in defense system ‘crazy’: MKE head
Selçuk Böke - ISTANBUL
Yasin Akdere, the head of the Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE), has described their new close-in air defense system as “crazy,” as the system has the ability to provide the most effective air defense against missiles and other weapon systems.
The MKE, affiliated with the Defense Ministry, stands out with the weapons and systems it has recently produced. Developing systems, such as the National Sea Cannon, Yavuz Howitzer and KN-12 Sniper Rifle, have now come to an end in the close air defense system produced by only a few countries in the world.
The project is in the serial production phase, Akdere told the daily Hürriyet.
Noting that it is planned to enter the Turkish army’s inventory at the end of this year, Akdere said, “The close-in air defense system is crazy. It is a system that will provide the most effective air defense against air-to-surface missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), airplanes and helicopters, including guided missiles both on the ship platform and on the land platform.”
It has been developed entirely with domestic and national means, including its software, he informed.
“Shooting tests are now complete. We will make a decision about mass production and proceed quickly. There is also serious demand from abroad,” he added.
The system, which can rotate 360 degrees on its axis and can fire 6,000 shots per minute from six rotating barrels, has an effective range of 2,000 meters for air targets and 2,500 meters for land targets.
It has an electro-optical sensor, thermal camera, day vision camera and laser rangefinder.
Stating that they acted with the “do what has not been done” instruction given by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Akdere said, “Our starting point is to do what has not been done. The MKE has great values in ammunition, weapons, rockets, explosives and chemicals in the defense industry.”
Türkiye has been positioning itself as a major player in the global defense and arms industry.
In the first nine months of 2022, the defense and aviation industry’s export revenues amounted to $2.6 billion, rising more than 40 percent from the same period of 2021. Turkish defense firms sell their products to more than 80 countries.
Exports, which stood at only $248 million in 2002, climbed from $2.27 billion in 2020 to $3.22 billion last year, while the turnover of the defense sector rose from 1.1 billion Turkish Liras in 2002 to 10.9 billion liras in 2020.
The number of defense projects carried out by the local defense sector jumped from 66 some 20 years ago to nearly 800 last year.
The MKE, established in 1950, is a reorganization of the government-controlled group of factories in Türkiye.
The corporation mainly produces equipment for the Turkish Armed Forces, such as ammunition for small arms and heavy weapons, artillery systems, aerial bombs, mines, explosives and rockets. It also manufactures civil-purpose products such as steel, brass and electrical parts and equipment.
Its large range of defense industry products are not only demanded in Türkiye but are exported to more than 40 countries worldwide.