ASELSAN [BIST:ASELS] unveiled new configurations of its ŞAHİN ATOM 40-based C-UAS system as the highly compact ŞAHİN LITE and ŞAHİN DUAL, both fitted with AESA radars.
ASELSAN has reworked the ŞAHİN C-UAS system, formed around an automatic grenade launcher with a kit for ATOM 40 prefragmented airburst rounds with two new variants, unveiled at SAHA EXPO 2026’s outdoors booth. The new variants are ŞAHİN LITE and ŞAHİN DUAL, the latter being based on the same trailer platform as baseline ŞAHİN 130/40GL.
Both variants incorporate small AESA radars arranged to provide hemispherical coverage and tracking with quicker target information updates.
ŞAHİN LITE as a Compact Solution
ŞAHİN LITE consists of a highly compact RCWS platform, likely based on SARP 100/L and the AESA radars that can be flexibly mounted. It is understood that ŞAHİN LITE is intended as a short-range solution that can be easily mounted at outposts or on smaller vehicles.
Due to using a small-sized RCWS, ŞAHİN LITE does not have a fully independent EO/IR system like ŞAHİN 130/40GL, but the optic can still move independently in the elevation axis.
ŞAHİN DUAL Combining Direct Hit and Airburst
ŞAHİN DUAL can be said to be addressing one of the key concerns of relying on a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher of subsonic muzzle velocity with a 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm machine gun that offers quicker arrival at the target and considerably cheaper ammunition.
The machine gun fires pellet ammunition made up of steel balls and a clamshell casing made of metal, which distributes the volume of fire to have a wider coverage, which is something to be desired in C-UAS use.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor:Özgür Ekşi
