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Aselsan's bunker-buster Tolun munition successfully destroyed a UH-1 helicopter positioned under reinforced concrete during a test firing from a Bayraktar Akinci unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), marking another milestone for the expanding Tolun munition family.
The test was conducted at a firing range in Konya, with footage showing the munition penetrating the reinforced concrete before destroying the target—a UH-1 general-purpose helicopter formerly in the Turkish Armed Forces inventory.
Following the Fragmentation-Effect Tolun-F, the Hard Target Fuze Bunker-Buster Tolun has now completed successful test firings.
Bayraktar Akinci completed firing tests with both Tolun-F (proximity sensor fragmentation effect) and ASAF-fused bunker-buster Tolun munitions, validating the operational performance of different warhead and fuze configurations.
Turkish Defense Industry Agency (SSB) President Haluk Gorgun said the successful tests demonstrated how effectively Aselsan's munition technologies work with Baykar platforms.
"These successful firings once again demonstrated how compatible and effective Aselsan's developed munition technologies work with Baykar platforms. We are advancing our air power step by step with national solutions," Gorgun said.
"I sincerely congratulate the Aselsan and Baykar teams who contributed," he added.
Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol said, "Two national powers are on stage with new capabilities," referring to Bayraktar Akinci and Aselsan's munition family.
"No point hiding or being hidden... Bayraktar Akinci and Aselsan Tolun. Our newly developed national hard target fuze bunker-buster Tolun, proximity sensor fragmentation-effect Tolun-F: High impact on multiple targets and wide areas... We will continue to add strength to our air platforms," Akyol said.
Tolun munition, which continues to be delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF), has strategic importance due to its over 100-kilometer range.
Thanks to the SADAK-4T Multiple Carriage Launcher, a single F-16 fighter jet can carry 8 Tolun munitions in one sortie. Unmanned platforms like Akinci can carry munitions in groups of 4 or 2 using SADAK-4T and SADAK-2T launchers on a single weapon station.
Tolun can hit targets with meter precision in all combat conditions and is resistant to electronic warfare. Despite its small size, it can penetrate hard targets.
Aircraft shelters hosting valuable targets such as fighter jets are among Tolun's target set.
The baseline Tolun is equipped with a hard-case penetrating warhead that can penetrate up to 1 meter of reinforced concrete, depending on range and angle of approach.
At 250 pounds (113 kilograms), Tolun is in the same class as MK-81 bombs. The GNSS/INS guidance includes waypoints for navigating through terrain.
Tolun is the baseline variant in Aselsan's family of small-diameter bombs (SDBs), which includes:
Tolun baseline with hard case penetrating warhead, Tolun-F with proximity sensor and fragmentation warhead for wide-area effect against multiple targets, Tolun-IIR with IIR seeker and fragmentation warhead, and Tolun-S surface-launched variant using a booster rocket developed by DeltaV.
Excluding Tolun-S, all variants can be dropped from SADAK-4T and SADAK-2T smart racks, as well as plain hardpoints on Akinci and ANKA-III.
A standalone variant configured for single use due to differences in the mounting interface is designated Tolun-SI.
Tolun recently achieved a record range of 100+ kilometers in a long-range test firing from an F-16 equipped with SADAK-4T smart rack, hitting a sea target.
"Very long range, absolute precision. With multiple engagement capabilities, Tolun successfully validated a new threshold at long range. This result clearly demonstrates the level reached by end-to-end indigenous and national engineering," Akyol said of that test.
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