The Turkish defence industry is taking the anti-tank capability of infantry units to the peak of global standards. The Short-Range Anti-Tank Weapon KARAOK, developed entirely with domestic resources by ROKETSAN, successfully completed four different user scenario tests in the field with direct hits. This critical development, announced by ROKETSAN General Manager Murat İkinci with the words "Its eye is black, its strike is precise," proves that the Turkish Armed Forces have made an absolute transition to the fire-and-forget doctrine against armoured targets. Being one of the lightest and most effective missiles in its class, KARAOK dramatically increases the survivability and striking ability of the Turkish soldier on the front line.
Fire-and-Forget and Top Attack Capability
Man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS) type anti-tank systems shoulder-fired by infantry are among the most critical weapons of the modern battlefield. ROKETSAN engineers designed the KARAOK system with a total weight of under 16 kilograms, including the missile and launcher tube, to avoid slowing down the soldier's mobility. Thus, the system can be easily carried by a single soldier and made ready to fire within seconds.
At the heart of the system lies a high-resolution Imaging Infrared Seeker (IIR) that locks onto the target with millimetric precision in day and night conditions. Thanks to this smart seeker, KARAOK operates in fire-and-forget mode, unlike traditional wire-guided missiles. The soldier does not have to continue designating the target with a laser immediately after firing the missile and can safely take cover and move away from the area.
The missile, with a diameter of 125 millimetres and a range of 2.5 kilometres, possesses its most destructive feature: Top Attack capability. The weakest armour of main battle tanks is always on the turret section. After launch, KARAOK suddenly rises in the air and makes a sharp dive onto the top of the tank. With its armour-piercing tandem warhead, the system easily penetrates even the thickest reactive armours.
Infantry Power in Asymmetric Warfare
Modern warfare history, especially recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, has shown the world how helpless million-dollar heavily armoured tanks can be against smart shoulder-fired missiles. In the past, the Turkish army was dependent on foreign-origin systems (e.g., US-made Javelin) for this vital top-attack capability. Political restrictions in foreign procurement processes slowed down the military's mobility.
The KARAOK project completely eliminates this strategic foreign dependency. While the initial explosive in the armour-piercing tandem warhead neutralises the explosive reactive armour (ERA) on the tank's outer surface, the main penetrator directly penetrates the tank's main body. ROKETSAN's successful completion of four different challenging firing scenarios with direct hits clearly certifies the system's high resistance to electronic warfare, adverse weather conditions, and moving targets.
Export Doors Open
With the KARAOK anti-tank missile, ROKETSAN once again proves the industrial maturity of Türkiye in guided munitions technology. The mass induction of this system into the inventory transforms infantry squads into tank hunters capable of stopping heavy armoured units on their own. In the future, having proven its operational success in the field, KARAOK will inevitably create a very powerful and high value-added export item for Türkiye in the global defence market.
