The Turkish Navy’s TCG Beykoz (F-503) corvette was used for on-platform testing of ROKETSAN’s LEVENT point defence missile system, confirming predictions.
LEVENT was previously seen on TCG Beykoz Corvette under a cloth shroud at the Alaybey Shipyard located in İzmir. TurDef previously predicted that the weapon under the shroud could be the LEVENT PDMS by matching the outlines sticking out from the anonymously posted photo.
The missile does not have moving fins, suggesting this is a flight test and validation of the system’s operability on a ship. The first firing test of LEVENT was performed similarly but on a ground-based site.
LEVENT, in its standalone configuration, uses four AESA radars and a gimbal EO/IR system for target detection and tracking.
The missile has a dual guidance system with an IIR+Passive RF seeker and a range of 11 km. Its counterpart, RIM-116 RAM, uses an IR+Passive RF seeker with the IR seeker relying on the missile’s rolling. Passive RF antennas allow the acquisition of anti-ship missiles by intercepting the signals from active RF seekers as backup guidance.
ASELSAN is developing another family of PDMS with TÜBİTAK SAGE, named GÖKSUR 100-N, using GÖKSUR missiles developed from Bozdoğan WVRAAM. The system is available in GÖKSUR 100-N “bare” configuration with 20 missiles, GÖKSUR 100-N/StA standalone configuration with a similar sensor fitting to LEVENT and 12 missiles, and GÖKSUR 100-N VLS with a modular vertical launch system. GÖKSUR 100-N VLS was also tested from TCG Beykoz, with the vertical launcher placed in an angled position.
