Azernews.Az

By News Centre

The Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), along with Turkish defence giants ASELSAN and ROKETSAN, have joined forces to develop a domestically produced Meteor-class long-range air-to-air missile, aimed at strengthening Türkiye’s airspace security — referred to as the “Blue Homeland in the Sky.”

At the ongoing IDEF 2025 International Defence Industry Fair in Istanbul, a contract was signed under the GÖKBORA Missile System for the development of the AGRAS 3101/AA AESA Seeker Head and an onboard data link. The signing ceremony was held at the SSB stand, attended by SSB President Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün, ASELSAN CEO Ahmet Akyol, and ROKETSAN General Manager Murat İkinci.

The project will see the development of the first nationally produced active electronically scanned array (AESA) seeker head for Türkiye’s GÖKBORA long-range air-to-air missile. The data link will also be designed to be compatible with the National Tactical Data Link (MTDL).

The announcement of possible Meteor missile sales to Türkiye by France had earlier triggered concern in Greece. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that the French-led consortium had not informed Athens of the deal, while Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias summoned the French ambassador to demand an explanation.

Greek media reported in February that Prime Minister Mitsotakis personally met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris in an attempt to block the missile sale — but was turned down.

Türkiye is already developing its own version of a Meteor-class air-to-air missile, known as Gökhan. The missile was recently seen next to the prototype of the KAAN fighter jet, indicating its integration into future Turkish air combat platforms.

Developed by TÜBİTAK-SAGE, the Gökhan missile bears visual similarities to GÖKDOĞAN and AIM-120 AMRAAM, but with a wider diameter and air intake, designed to house a liquid-fuelled ramjet engine.

Unlike conventional solid-fuel missiles, ramjet-powered air-to-air missiles provide sustained thrust and energy throughout their flight, giving them a greater ‘No Escape Zone’ (NEZ) and significantly reducing an enemy aircraft’s chances of evasion.

Gökhan is expected to be deployed from both manned and unmanned combat aircraft, particularly the cutting-edge KIZILELMA and ANKA-3 UAVs. This could drastically expand the operational reach of Turkish UCAVs in air-to-air combat.

It is assessed that solid-fuel missiles like the AIM-120 AMRAAM used by rival platforms would likely be outclassed when facing Türkiye’s ramjet-powered Gökhan-equipped drones, potentially altering the regional air superiority balance.