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Türkiye has completed live-warhead validation tests for its domestically developed air-to-air missiles Gokdogan and Bozdogan, with both weapons scoring direct hits on targets, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir announced, adding that serial production has begun.
"Gokdogan and Bozdogan successfully completed their validation processes by hitting targets with full precision using live warheads in their latest tests, and serial production processes have begun," Kacir said in a statement on X.
"This is not just a test, it is a concrete indicator of our deterrence, our engineering, and our determination in the sky," he added.
The tests were conducted in coordination between TUBITAK SAGE, Türkiye's premier research institute dedicated to the design and development of guided munitions, missile systems, and strategic aerospace technologies, and the Turkish Air Force (TurAF).
Gokdogan is a Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile developed by TUBITAK SAGE for engagements at distances exceeding 65 kilometers. It carries a novel solid-state active radio frequency seeker, fire-and-forget capability, advanced counter-countermeasure capabilities, including home-on-jamming, target update capability via datalink, and all-aspect engagement against multiple targets simultaneously.
The missile also features lock-on-after-launch capability and is powered by a high-thrust, reduced-smoke solid-fuel rocket engine with a fully electronic arming and firing system.
Its warhead uses pressure and particle effects designed for maximum probability of kill.
The missile is MIL-STD-1553 and MIL-STD-1760 compliant and designed for integration with the LAU-129 launcher.
Bozdogan is a Within Visual Range air-to-air missile built for close-range air combat at distances exceeding 25 kilometers and speeds above Mach 4. The missile weighs approximately 140 kilograms, measures 3.3 meters in length, and has a diameter of 160 millimeters.
Its guidance system uses a high-resolution infrared imaging seeker providing outstanding off-boresight capability and all-aspect engagement. A thrust vector control system delivers superior agility. Bozdogan also features advanced counter-countermeasure capabilities, a pressure- and particle-warhead with a custom kill-probability design, and a fully electronic rocket motor arming and firing system.
It is compatible with MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1760, and the LAU-129 launcher.
Both missiles have been integrated with Turkish F-16 fighter jets.
Future deployments are planned for the Kaan national combat aircraft, the Akinci armed drone, the Kizilelma unmanned combat aircraft (UCA) and other national air platforms.
Kizilelma previously achieved what the sources describe as a world first during a test, detecting an aerial target using the Aselsan MURAD AESA Radar and destroying it with the Gokdogan missile.
Kacir praised the engineers and technical staff behind the program. "I wholeheartedly congratulate all our stakeholders who contributed to this great success, especially our TUBITAK SAGE engineers and technicians," he said.
"May it be auspicious for our country. Toward much stronger tomorrows on the path of the National Technology Initiative," he concluded.
Gokdogan and Bozdogan are among Türkiye's most critical air munitions programs as part of its broader push to reduce dependence on foreign defense suppliers.
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