Turkey achieved a major milestone in its air defense modernization as the Turkish Air Defense Command successfully test-fired the Hisar-O medium-range missile system, marking its full operational readiness. Conducted independently by Turkish military personnel at the Aksaray Test Range, the trial demonstrated the system’s maturity and combat preparedness. Developed jointly by Aselsan and Roketsan, the Hisar-O is now ready for active deployment, capable of intercepting aircraft, cruise missiles, and drones at ranges exceeding 25 kilometers. Defense officials hailed the achievement as proof of Turkey’s growing self-reliance in advanced missile defense technology and a key step toward building a layered, indigenous “Iron Shield” protecting national airspace.
ANKARA — Turkey’s Air Defense Command has successfully test-fired the domestically developed Hisar-O medium-range air-defense missile at the Aksaray firing range, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday, releasing video of the launch on its official NSosyal account.
The ministry described the firing as successful and highlighted that the test was conducted by military personnel operating the system independently — without direct involvement by the platform’s design teams at ASELSAN and ROKETSAN — a sign that the system has reached operational maturity and that training for personnel is effectively complete.
Roketsan’s chief executive, Murat İkinci, confirmed the test on X (formerly Twitter), praising the system as “the iron shield of the sky homeland” and stating that the firing marked another successful milestone for the company’s medium-range air-defense family.
What the Test Demonstrated
Officials said approximately 10 Hisar-O missiles were held ready during the exercise. The launch validates the transition of the Hisar-O from the development and test phase into active operational deployment, and demonstrates the system’s readiness for integration into Turkey’s layered air-defence architecture.
System Role and Capabilities
The Hisar family — including the shorter-range Hisar-A and the medium-range Hisar-O variants — is designed to protect critical infrastructure, military bases, ports and deployed troops against a spectrum of aerial threats:
- Targets: fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, cruise missiles, air-to-ground missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
- Engagement envelope (Hisar-O): optimized for medium-altitude interception with a reported range exceeding 25 km.
- Warhead: high-explosive blast-fragmentation.
- Propulsion & guidance: dual-pulse solid rocket motor; inertial navigation augmented by an imaging infrared seeker and a one-way datalink for midcourse guidance.
Both Hisar variants are built on a modular family concept, enabling compatibility with different launch platforms, fire-control systems and command-and-control networks. Vertical launch cells provide 360° engagement coverage.
Hisar-O 100: Architecture & Tactical Performance
A complete Hisar-O 100 battery is a networked unit that performs detection, classification, tracking, identification, command and fire control in a distributed architecture. Typical battery composition:
- 1 × Fire Control Center
- 1 × Radar unit
- 3 × Missile Launching Systems
- 1 × Electro-Optical System
- 1 × Missile Transport & Reloading System
Key operational claims include:
- Battery-level: 18+ ready missiles; tracking support for up to 100 targets simultaneously.
- Battalion-level: scalable to 54+ ready missiles and multi-site engagement.
- Multi-sensor fusion: electro-optical and RF sensors, multi-radar fusion, automatic target tracking and engagement.
- Data links & interoperability: supports Link-1, Link-11B, Link-16 and JREAP protocols for coordination with higher-level C2 systems.
- All-weather & day/night: GPS navigation, embedded simulation and built-in test (BIT) capabilities for maintenance and training.
- Counter-UAS & multi-engagement: designed for successive firing against multiple incoming threats and includes counter-drone capabilities.
Remote control, wired/wireless communications and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) functionality are built into the system to speed decision cycles and enable networked engagements.
Strategic Significance
The successful test advances Turkey’s goal of fielding indigenous, layered air-defence capabilities and reducing reliance on foreign suppliers for critical air-defence assets. Hisar-O’s medium-range coverage is intended to fill a capability gap between short-range point-defence systems and longer-range surface-to-air missile batteries, strengthening protection for bases, naval ports and key infrastructure.
Roketsan and ASELSAN’s role in developing sensors, seekers, and the missile itself underscores Ankara’s broader push for domestic defence industrialisation and exportable systems for allied partners.
Outlook
With personnel declared trained and the platform demonstrably operational by Turkish forces, the next phases will likely focus on further field deployments, integration with national air-defence networks and potential export marketing. Continued live-fire exercises and joint drills will be used to validate layered defence concepts and interoperability with naval and ground assets.
Sources: Official statement from the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Defence (NSosyal); Roketsan CEO statement on X; publicly available technical descriptions of the Hisar family.
Discover more from JUST UNTOLD STORY
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
