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Turkish defense giant Aselsan unveiled containerized versions of its Gokdeniz and Goksur close-in air defense systems at the EURONAVAL naval defense fair near Paris, designed to protect commercial ships such as tankers and cargo vessels from drone and missile attacks.
"Threats are no longer just to military ships. We are living in a world where tankers and cargo ships in the civilian domain are also attacked. You see this today in many places from Hormuz to the Black Sea," Aselsan General Manager Ahmet Akyol told Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency (AA).
"We developed concepts that can also protect civilian ships," he said.
"We converted these into container versions that can be placed on commercial ships and had the opportunity to exhibit them here in Paris. We already export many of these," the Aselsan CEO noted.
EURONAVAL opened Tuesday at the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center and runs until Nov. 6.
The containerized package can be integrated on a wide range of ships in a plug-and-play manner without deck penetration or onboard electronics rework.
The containerized Goksur point-defense missile system (PDMS), a development of the Goksur 100-N vertical launch variant, offers a range of 15 kilometers in a compact package. Its missiles can receive midcourse guidance from AESA radars on the central control unit or from optical sensors via datalink.
The containerized Gokdeniz 100/35 is stored inside a container that folds open for quick deployment and appears to be controlled by the AESA-equipped central control unit.
The deployable Gokdeniz configuration, shown for the first time at EURONAVAL, can operate independently of its host platform with its own power source and operator environment, and can be moved and redeployed where needed. It brings the field-proven capabilities of the land-based Korkut air defense system to naval platforms and is designed in particular to protect commercial ships and oil tankers transiting strategic and difficult waterways against drones and other current air threats.
Fitting commercial ships with self-defense weapons raises regulatory issues beyond the technical, and new regulations to protect seaborne commercial transport may be underway, with Aselsan preparing for the changes, defense outlet TURDEF reported.
The containers could also fill gaps on warships that lack a gun or missile self-defense system, such as Ada-class corvettes using the Mk49 point-defense missile system instead of Gokdeniz, or I-class frigates relying on medium-range Hisar-D missiles for point defense beyond close-in weapon range. This could be even more important for force-projection platforms such as tank landing ships and amphibious assault ships with ample deck space.
"We are proud to represent our country and our nation as Aselsan at one of the world’s leading maritime fairs," Akyol said.
He said about one-fifth of Aselsan's activities are in the maritime domain and that the company powers the Turkish Naval Forces with its own unmanned systems, offering solutions from naval aviation to the coast guard sector.
"We are now striving to carry all our activities into the global league. We are moving toward making Aselsan a world brand," Akyol said, adding that the company joined the fair to showcase its products internationally and meet end users.
"Naval warfare in the world is changing," he said.
"Along with conventional threats, asymmetric threats such as drones are now part of naval forces and the maritime world. So new solutions are needed to respond to this change. On the deterrence side, alongside conventional capabilities, more cost-effective, unmanned systems we call asymmetric are coming to the fore. At the same time, systems that work in an integrated way, are supported by artificial intelligence and can act together are actually making a difference in the field," the Aselsan CEO noted.
Akyol said Aselsan has adapted some existing products to new threats.
"For example, we have our SMASH gun. It is used in 18 countries. We released a new version of this system, which normally hits sea targets from the sea, so that it can hit drones, and presented it to our users for the first time in Paris," he said, adding that it can now detect and strike Shahed-type drones from ships.
"Similarly, to increase deterrence, we have our Kilic and Tufan kamikaze systems in the asymmetric domain. In particular, we brought Tufan to an international fair in its real size for the first time," Akyol said, adding that Tufan is days away from entering the military inventory.
"Kilic is quite a game changer, a system that creates a surprise effect underwater, can travel up to 200 miles and is guided by integrated smart software," he said.
Akyol said Aselsan's products on display include deterrence systems, mobile air defense solutions, counter-drone solutions and the FERSAH and DUFAS underwater sonars. The company also brought its MERCAN 100 submarine periscope to the fair in finished form for the first time.
He said an embargo had previously been imposed on submarine periscopes, after which Aselsan began nationalizing them with the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF), adding AI-supported features.
"The product diversity and end-to-end solution we are showing here today is a capability very few companies in the world have," Akyol said, noting that Aselsan can equip ships with systems from sonar to air defense.
"We can do all of this on submarines, we can do all of this on the coast, and we equip them with unmanned systems. On top of that, with the capabilities we put on our armed drones, we can carry out anti-submarine warfare from armed drones," he said.
Akyol said Aselsan owes its current level to the support of the Turkish nation and Türkiye’s decisions. "We thank them. We will continue working to carry Aselsan, a global brand, higher in the world league," he concluded.
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