Turkish MoD announced that a ballistic missile was intercepted over Turkish airspace, with SM-3’s second-stage booster landing on Güneyşehir, Gaziantep.
A second statement was released by the Turkish MoD, including that another ballistic missile was intercepted by “NATO air defence assets in the Eastern Mediterranean” with some missile parts landing on Gaziantep.
Not long after, videos by İhlas News Agency appeared, at Güneyşehir, Gaziantep. The footages show a Mk104 DTRM, the second stage booster for SM-3 anti-ballistic missiles used by Arleigh Burke-class destroyers of the US Navy. Considering the distance, Iran’s inventory, and the missile used for interception, it is likely that the ballistic missile falls into the MRBM class.
No details on the missile’s possible target were provided officially, and the same case applies to the previous interception incident. In the previous interception, SM-3 was also used, with Mk104 DTRM landing on Hatay, another southeastern province.
SM-3 is the primary exo-atmospheric anti-ballistic missile used by the US, onboard Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The missile equipped with an exo-atmospheric kill vehicle has three booster stages (Mk72->Mk104->Mk136). Guidance is provided by a combination of the onboard radar of the ship (AN/SPY-1 or AN/SPY-6) and space-based sensors, with the kill vehicle's IR seeker taking over for terminal phase.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor: Özgür Ekşi
