{"id":23939,"date":"2018-05-02T19:38:35","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T19:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/05\/02\/turkey-seeks-to-expand-range-of-locally-built-missile\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:11:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:11:48","slug":"turkey-seeks-to-expand-range-of-locally-built-missile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2018\/05\/02\/turkey-seeks-to-expand-range-of-locally-built-missile\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey seeks to expand range of locally built missile"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ANKARA, Turkey \u2014 Turkey has set out to advance its indigenous<\/a> surface-to-surface missile program, aiming at a \u201clonger range,\u201d of which Turkish officials have not yet defined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli said April 26 that the Bora-1 missile system (Storm-1 in Turkish) entered the military\u2019s inventory in 2017. The Bora-1 has a range of 280 kilometers. The minister added that work on the Bora-2 program has already begun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He described the Bora-2 as featuring a \u201cmore advanced missile technology than the Bora-1 and a longer range.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore details and the range will be announced later,\u201d Canikli said. He said the guidance systems of the Bora-1 are U.S.-made, but such systems would be produced locally<\/a> from 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey\u2019s ambitions to develop long-range surface-to-surface missiles are not new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Bora-1, which is expected to get an upgrade to Bora-2, is made by Roketsan, Turkey\u2019s national missile manufacturer. (Roketsan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2011, the Turkish government announced plans to develop a missile with a maximum range of 2,500 kilometers, not revealing whether it would be ballistic or cruise. Although little information about the program has been released, a Turkish Cabinet minister claimed in January 2013 that Turkey possessed capabilities to produce a missile with a range of 800 kilometers. That claim has never been confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also in 2013, Tubitak Sage, an affiliate of the Turkish scientific research institute Tubitak, was awarded the development contract and indicated that it intended to test a prototype \u201cwithin the next two years.\u201d Turkey has never officially revealed if that prototype ever materialized and\/or tested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further indicating Turkey\u2019s intention to earn offensive missile capabilities was a move in 2012 and 2013 for the construction of the first Turkish satellite launching center, which would bolster the country\u2019s mushrooming satellite programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey\u2019s Western allies have suspected Ankara could be intending to use its own launching pad to fire the long-range missiles the government hopes to build in the medium to long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2013, Turkey\u2019s procurement agency, the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries, signed a contract with the country\u2019s national missile manufacturer, Roketsan, to build the Turkish Satellite Launching System, or UFS in its Turkish acronym, for preconceptual design work.<\/p>\n\n\n\t