SİPER-2, the long-range strength of Türkiye's layered air defence architecture ÇELİKKUBBE, has successfully completed one of the most challenging scenarios that could be encountered under wartime conditions. From the statements made by Defence Industry Agency President Professor Dr. Haluk Görgün and ASELSAN, it has emerged that SİPER-2's success was not limited to changing targets in mid-air after firing (retargeting). SİPER-2 has also proven with this test its engagement capability against targets flying close to sea level, which makes radar detection difficult.
Full Protection Against Threats Approaching at Low Altitude Over the Sea Surface
The most striking detail of the statement made by ASELSAN, which is responsible for developing SİPER-2's electronic systems, was the system's success against sea-skimming targets.
On the modern battlefield, anti-ship missiles or kamikaze drones approach their targets by flying low over the sea (at very low altitude) in order to exploit radar blind spots. This leaves defence systems only seconds to react. SİPER-2's successful destruction of the target in this challenging scenario demonstrates just how significant a stage Türkiye has reached, particularly in the defence of the Blue Homeland and in coastal protection.
Mid-Air Target Change (Retargeting) Agility
The system's engagement success at sea level was taken to the next level with unique flexibility. As Professor Dr. Haluk Görgün also emphasised in his message, the SİPER-2 missile, fired after locking onto a specific target, updated its course during flight via the data link from the command and control system and successfully destroyed a second target assigned to it in mid-air.
With this complex scenario, carried out through the strategic cooperation of ASELSAN, ROKETSAN and TÜBİTAK SAGE, the capabilities of engaging the first target, redirecting the missile to a second target in mid-air, mid-course guidance and terminal guidance in which the missile heads towards the target with its own seeker head were verified end to end.
A Vast Ecosystem of 1,000 Companies
The SİPER project is also of great importance in terms of the Turkish defence industry's strategy of broadening its base. Professor Dr. Görgün notes that approximately 1,000 subcontractor companies are involved in the project and states that the qualified human resources developed by these companies are the cornerstone of the success. Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, in a post from his social media account, also drew attention to the importance of inter-institutional coordination in this historic success.
The Latest Situation in ÇELİKKUBBE, Ballistic and Supersonic Interception Capability
The latest developments in the close-in air defence layer of the Steel Dome — the positive feedback from the Ukrainian field regarding the ASELSAN KORKUT system and MKE's TOLGA system — show that Türkiye possesses strong air defence protection, particularly against drones, the most asymmetric threat of the modern battlefield.
The success demonstrated by the HİSAR air defence systems at home and abroad, the capabilities possessed by the SUNGUR system and, of course, SİPER-1's successful tests indicate that Türkiye has fully secured its territory against "air-breathing" targets at low and medium altitudes.
The successive successful tests relating to SİPER Product-2, meanwhile, show that Türkiye can successfully engage air-breathing targets from long range. In particular, the latest engagement success achieved against sea-skimming targets is a development that strategically strengthens Türkiye's hand in the defence of the Blue Homeland as well.
Assessing all this technological momentum, we anticipate that developments may occur in the near future with regard to SİPER Product-2 in terms of intercepting short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs). With the inclusion in the Steel Dome — which will in the first phase react to short-range ballistic threats — of the new early warning radar planned to be developed by ASELSAN and the SİPER-3 / SİPER-4 blocks, long-range ballistic missile and hypersonic missile interception (anti-ballistic) capability will also be gained.
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