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Aselsan's Winged Guidance Kit-84 (KGK-84), developed for 2,000-pound bombs, successfully hit a defined target at sea with a direct hit after being dropped from an F-16 fighter jet, completing its first drop test involving a target.
The heaviest member of the KGK family, KGK-84, followed waypoints during its test to reach the target. The test munition, fitted with what appears to be a pitot tube for measurements at the nose, was dropped by an F-16 fighter.
Turkish Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) head Haluk Gorgun said KGK-84 "once again demonstrates the high level our country has reached in guidance technologies."
"The Aselsan KGK-84 Winged Guidance Kit, which hit its target with a direct hit after being dropped from an F-16, has once again demonstrated the high level our country has reached in guidance technologies with its ability to follow predetermined waypoints with high precision from long range and advanced technologies that differentiate it from its counterparts in the world," Gorgun said.
"Our guidance kits developed with national engineering power have once again confirmed the determination and technological competence of the Turkish defense industry in the field," he added.
"These successes are the concrete outputs of our vision to produce our own technology and gain global competitive power with national solutions, which we have pursued with determination for years," Gorgun noted.
Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol said KGK-84 will be a "game-changer" with its strike power and attack capabilities.
Akyol highlighted KGK-84's key features as providing long-range capability to 1-ton munitions, a cost-effective solution with its non-propulsive design, selectable impact angle, and high resistance to jamming.
"We will continue to develop longer-range, higher-accuracy, more cost-effective solutions suitable for the modern conflict environment," Akyol said.
KGK-84 is described as a long-range winged guidance kit that can be integrated with 2,000 pound-class general-purpose bombs, including MK-84, MK-84-T, NEB, and NEB-T warheads, launched from air platforms and used against stationary hard and soft ground targets.
The system has integrated INS/GPS navigation capability. KGK-84 includes an integrated inertial navigation system and a global positioning system with a GPS jamming-resistant antenna, allowing it to operate in all weather conditions.
When released from long range, the system can perform its mission with high strike precision and accuracy without entering enemy territory.
KGK-84's highlighted features include high strike precision and high destructive power, long range with deployable wing assembly, all-weather capability, day and night mission capability, ability to attack opportunity targets, integrated INS/GPS-based guidance kit, resistance to GNSS jamming with CRPA anti-jam antenna, waypoint following capability, selectable impact angle, and MIL-STD-1760 compatibility.
The KGK family previously consisted of KGK-82 and KGK-83 for 500-pound Mk-82 and 1,000-pound Mk-83 bombs, with options for Mk-84 bombs as LGK and HGK. KGK-84 is one of two new kits changing this.
KGK-84 will allow the use of Mk-84 2,000-pound general-purpose bombs from long range (over 100 kilometers) and with the flexibility to follow waypoints.
In addition to general-purpose 2,000-pound bombs, alternative bombs of the same weight can be used, including Tubitak SAGE's NEB/NEB-T shaped charge bunker buster bomb, the newer NEB-1/2 HAYALET hardcase bunker busters from the Turkish Ministry of Defense R&D department, and GAZAP enhanced blast effect bombs.
KGK-82/83 are already in inventory and serial production. With KGK-84, the Turkish Air Force will be able to deliver heavier, more effective bombs, such as NEB and NEB-T, to ranges of 100 kilometers, enabling strikes on bunkers and ammunition depots from long range.
The kit offers a cost-effective solution compared to cruise missiles, which are costly, difficult and time-consuming to produce, representing a significant leap in the Air Force's SEAD/DEAD (Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses) capabilities.
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