The launcher fired a LEVENT short-range air defence missile with onboard AESA radar and EO/IR system.
The test was announced on the company's X account. LEVENT Point Defence Missile System (PDMS) has been developed for warships as a successor to the U.S.-made Mk49 RAM systems.
LEVENT will be developed in two configurations: the 'bare' version with 21 cells but no onboard sensor like Mk49 RAM and the autonomous configuration with 11 cells, AESA radars, and a gimbal EO/IR.
Surprisingly, the latter was used in the test despite being revealed later than the first. The autonomous configuration of LEVENT was unveiled in the IDEF'23 exhibition.
LEVENT missile is a three-meter-long short-range air defence missile with a range of 11 km. Like RIM-116 missiles, the missile features a combination of infrared and passive RF guidance to home in towards anti-ship missile seekers. However, LEVENT uses an IIR seeker, which is more resistant against countermeasures thanks to imaging, while the foreign-supplied counterpart uses an IR one without imaging. The aerodynamic layout consists of two-set fins for enhanced turn performance.
In addition to ROKETSAN, ASELSAN is also developing the GÖKSUR PDMS with similar sensor capabilities (AKREP 200-N AESA radars and EO/IR) but with the Bozdoğan-DH (or GÖKSUR IIR) missile which is a development of the Bozdoğan AAM with design changes including folding fins and two-way data-link for feed from sensors.
ROKETSAN Test-Fires LEVENT Missile
