ROKETSAN’s ATMACA Anti-Ship Missile with Kale’s indigenous KTJ-3200 turbojet was fired from the BARBAROS coastal defence system. The missile with an RF seeker hit the stationary sea target. The test is important as it is the first time ATMACA has been fired with the KTJ-3200 engine. Land-based ATMACA is part of the BARBAROS coastal defence system alongside the ÇAKIR cruise missile as the secondary effector.
KTJ-3200 will also be used on the air-launched SOM cruise missile, a critical stand-off asset for the Turkish Air Force. Previous models of ATMACA and SOM use the French TR40 turbojet engine.
An indigenous engine means there will be even less dependency on foreign suppliers for further production of cruise missiles. Additionally, this will open the possibility of improvements to achieve longer ranges for ATMACA and SOM cruise missiles.
Another cruise missile using a Kale engine, the ÇAKIR lightweight cruise missile, is currently integrated into AKINCI UCAV. A KTJ-1750 turbojet engine powers the missile with a range of 150+ km. ÇAKIR, launched from AKINCI UCAV, successfully hit a sea target with IIR seeker in 2024. Kale is additionally working on KTJ-3700 and ARAT turbojet engines for future cruise missiles.
