Gabya-class frigates (Ex Oliver Hazard Perry-class) of the Turkish Navy alongside two other ship classes will receive the Atmaca anti-ship missile.

STM’s Head of Combat Systems, Enver Küçükerman, announced the programme to arm the Turkish Navy frigates with indigenous anti-ship missiles during the 12th Naval Systems Seminar. Four Gabya-class frigates alongside three Ada-class corvettes and the Barbaros-class frigates under modernisation will be fitted with the missiles by the end of 2027’s first quarter.

This means that the four Gabya-class frigates to receive the Atmaca missiles will likely serve for at least another decade, considering the fact that an armament modernisation would not be done on a ship to retire in the short term. It is also likely that the frigates to receive Atmaca are the ones fitted with eight-cell Mk41 VLS modules for RIM-162 ESSM missiles.

While the ships have a considerable age, the presence of RIM-162 ESSM and Atmaca can keep them relevant for some more time.

Compared to the older generation Harpoon missiles present on Gabya-class frigates, Atmaca offers a longer range (250 km versus 124 km) and a more capable guidance system that has demonstrated itself in GNSS-denied scenarios.

A similar case with Turkiye in terms of keeping Ex Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates is Taiwan with Cheng Kung-class frigates. The ships are fitted with Hsiung Feng II/III anti-ship missiles and two 40 mm L70 naval guns in addition to the 76 mm naval gun as supporting legs of Taiwan’s anti-surface warfare capabilities in large numbers.

Atmaca Anti-Ship Missile

Atmaca was developed as a locally-produced successor to the RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles to be used onboard both indigenously built warships and legacy ones. The missile’s first shipborne firing test was performed from the Ada-class corvette.

The baseline version of Atmaca uses a guidance system consisting of INS, GNSS, and RF seeker with an option to use IIR seeker. Atmaca can reach a range of 250 km and carries a 220 kg penetrating HE-FRAG warhead.

Initially, the French TR40 turbojet engine was used in the production of Atmaca, with Kale’s KTJ-3200 replacing the foreign engine recently. The same engine has also been selected for Brazil and UAE’s joint anti-ship missile MANSUP-ER.

The launch platforms of Atmaca currently include warships and trucks but ROKETSAN plans for other platforms as well. The first of these is submarines with the firing test of encapsulated Atmaca (UGM-84 Harpoon counterpart) performed in 2025. Aircraft will be seemingly included too, as the F-16 Özgür modernisation’s infographic shows an air-launched Atmaca among the munitions to be compatible.

Author: Kaan Azman

Editor: Özgür Ekşi