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Roketsan General Manager Murat Ikinci revealed comprehensive details about Türkiye's advanced missile systems, describing the Tayfun ballistic missile as particularly challenging for enemy defenses due to its hypersonic capabilities and sophisticated countermeasures.
"Tayfun is a missile that is difficult to stop with its various capabilities," Ikinci said during the SAHA Sohbet YouTube program on Tuesday, where he discussed the latest developments in the Turkish defense industry, including Tayfun, IHA-300 missiles, and the Siper air defense system.
The Tayfun system represents years of investment and accumulated experience by Roketsan, developed specifically to serve the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF). The recently launched Block-4 version at IDEF 2025 showcases Türkiye's ballistic missile capabilities to the world.
"Tayfun is one of the projects that Roketsan has been investing in for a long time. Tayfun is a missile system that consists of blocks within itself as a product family and can be used for very different purposes," Ikinci explained.
The Tayfun Block-4 measures 10 meters in length and weighs 7.2 tons, representing what Ikinci described as "a magnificent missile." Its warhead capacity and hypersonic speed capability make it "one of the products at the highest technological level."
"While air defense systems are effective against ballistic missiles, when hypersonic speeds are reached, the hit probability of these systems decreases. Tayfun is therefore a missile that is harder to stop," Ikinci said.
Beyond speed, the Tayfun incorporates classified advanced capabilities designed to confuse air defense systems. "Tayfun's effectiveness comes not only from its speed; it also has various advanced capabilities to confuse air defense systems. Although most of these features are not disclosed to the public, the Tayfun missile attracts attention not only with its speed but also with the technological capabilities it carries," he noted.
Ikinci later highlighted Türkiye's commanding position in the global UAV market and the advanced munitions developed to maintain this advantage.
"The Turkish defense industry currently holds approximately 65% of the world market with the advantage it has achieved in UAVs. In order to maintain this advantage without losing it, we continue to add new technologies to our UAVs," he said.
The IHA-230, with its 150-kilometer range, has proven itself in combat environments and serves multiple international customers through exports.
"IHA-230, with its 150 kilometer range, is actually the steel claws of our UAVs. Together with our CAKIR missile, it is a system that brings the effective range of our UAVs to the highest level. IHA-230 is not only in our inventory but also in the inventory of many countries through exports and is actively used in different areas," Ikinci noted.
The newly introduced ER-300 missile represents a significant advancement over the IHA-230 system.
"The ER-300 missile can be described as the 'big brother' of the IHA-230. The ER-300 is a much longer-range and heavier missile that can be integrated into both UAVs and our fighter aircraft, with a larger warhead and propulsion system," Ikinci explained.
While the Akinci UAV cannot carry as many ER-300 missiles as the lighter IHA-230, the system provides critical long-range engagement capabilities. "If long range is required, ER-300 can be preferred thanks to Akinci's SOM firing capability. Together with SOM, it will be one of the main weapon systems of Akinci and our other large unmanned combat platforms," he said.
Both the IHA-230 and ER-300 present significant challenges to enemy air defense systems due to their supersonic speeds and late detection characteristics.
"Both IHA-230 and ER-300 are nightmares of air defense systems. Both move at supersonic speeds and are detected late by radars. The smaller size of IHA-230 provides an additional advantage by reducing its radar signature. It poses a serious threat, especially to fixed and mobile air defense systems," Ikinci said.
The cost-effectiveness of these offensive systems compared to defensive countermeasures provides strategic advantages. "Stopping such missiles is very costly because an air defense system has to launch several missiles to prevent IHA-230 or ER-300. However, we produce these missiles both cost-effectively and can use them on our UAVs. This means an effective and economical solution for us," he explained.
Ikinci emphasized the fundamental challenge in defense versus offense: "As we always say, defending is more difficult than attacking. It is more difficult to develop technologies that will eliminate the threat coming from the opposite side."
The Siper air defense system represents the top tier of Türkiye's integrated Steel Dome air defense architecture, with most components already in active service.
"There is a structure crowned with Siper Block-1 and Siper Block-2 at the top layer of Steel Dome. Each component of this structure is very valuable. Siper Block-2 has not yet entered the inventory; all other systems are currently actively used in the field and their numbers are rapidly increasing with serial production," Ikinci said.
The Siper Block-2, developed jointly with TUBITAK SAGE, will become Türkiye's longest-range air defense missile.
"Siper Block-2 will be our longest-range missile in air defense. In the tests conducted this year, it successfully performed the desired maneuvers and reached its target," Ikinci said.
The system follows a clear development timeline: "The goal is to bring it to a stage where qualification can be completed by the end of next year. After that, with serial production, it will enter the inventory as the longest-range air defense missile of Steel Dome."
The Steel Dome architecture incorporates artificial intelligence-supported command and control systems to optimize responses against various threats.
"Against today's saturation, swarm and ballistic missile threats, Steel Dome automates the most appropriate response according to the threat type with artificial intelligence-supported command and control systems," Ikinci explained.
He emphasized the ongoing nature of air defense development: "This will continue as an endless race. Here, the collaborations of Roketsan, TUBITAK SAGE, and Aselsan are very valuable."
Roketsan is also developing independent space launch capabilities through the Simsek-2 project, designed to carry 1.5-ton satellites into orbit.
"Roketsan has reached the space boundary many times with its sounding rockets, but the real goal is to have platforms that will place payloads into orbit," Ikinci said.
The strategic importance of this capability extends beyond technical achievement: "This means: Türkiye can now carry its own satellites to space without waiting for any state to respond to its own needs. This is very valuable in terms of independence in the space race."
The space launch capability also represents economic opportunity: "This technology will also provide a critical advantage for Türkiye to get a share from the multi-billion dollar space economy."
Roketsan operates with more than 90% domestic content, working with over 2,000 partner companies.
"Roketsan's most important strategy is actually to use products that can be used 100% without any permission from other countries in our own systems," Ikinci said.
As the world's 11th fastest-growing defense company, Roketsan emphasizes strengthening the domestic ecosystem. "In order to sustain this growth, strengthening the domestic ecosystem is essential," he noted.
Ikinci lastly emphasized that Tayfun represents just one element of Roketsan's extensive development portfolio.
"Tayfun is just one of our development projects. We are carrying out dozens of projects," he concluded.
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