Turkey's ATMACA Anti-ship Missile Cleared For Forces Entry After Latest Test

Turkey's anti-ship cruise missile, ATMACA has been cleared for forces entry after it struck a sea-based target 200 kms away in its latest long-distance test launch Saturday, head of the Defense Industries Presidency (SSB) Ismail Demir tweeted.

“ATMACA flew a long distance this time. It successfully hit a target over 200 kilometers away and is ready to enter the (Turkish military’s) weapons inventory,” Demir posted on his Twitter page. This is the third successful test of the missile and the longest in terms of range.

The latest test was from a land platofrm. In an earlier test from a moving platform during November 2019, the Turkish Navy carried out the first test launch in the Black Sea from the TCG Kinaliada corvette.

An accompanying video showed the missile launched from an elevated sea platform, quickly achieved vertical cruise flight and guided to hit its  target with pin-point accuracy. The video also showed the missile’s manufacturing process.

The missile offers mid-course correction and its guidance system is protected against jamming, a feature that places it on the same shelf as the latest European and US –made anti-ship missiles. Its other anologues are the Indian BrahMos and the Russian P-800 Oniks / Yakhont.

In development since 2009, ATMACA completed tests in November 2018. A deal for its mass production was signed between the SSB and its manufacturer Roketsan in 2018. The launch control system of the missile was developed by Turkish defense electronics firm ASELSAN, while the fire control system was developed by the Turkish Naval Research Center Command (ArMerKom).

The ATMACA can be fired from fixed or moving targets such as ships. It has a range of up to 250 kilometers, hovers low above water and can reach its target both on a linear and a vertical plane. With this feature, the missile can reach a higher altitude when it gets closer to the target and land on a target ship from directly above, According to information provided by Roketsan.