Turkey’s newly announced ship-borne National Vertical Launch System (MDAS) will be outfitted with a “Quad-Pack,” boosting its missile launch capacity to 64, Roketsan General Manager Murat Ikinci revealed to SavunmaSanayiST.
The 16-cell MDAS will be installed on the country’s first indigenously-built frigate, the TCG Istanbul, with multiple configurations — including one with cruise missile capacity.
“Siper Block-I [air defense missile system] will be put into service in 2023. We will use the HİSAR-RF [air defense missile system] together with the MDAS at TCG Istanbul,” Ikinci said.
Cruise Missiles to Be Added
The Roketsan official added that additional capabilities such as the Quad-Pack, cruise missile, and anti-ship missile launch might be installed in later project phases.
“The MDAS project will go in phases. We will continue our efforts to provide both cruise missile and anti-ship missile launch and Quad-Pack capability in advanced configurations,” he said.
According to the Turkish outlet, the launch system integration with the frigate will be complete in 2023, when the vessel is scheduled to be commissioned.
Indigenous Project
Roketsan announced the MDAS project last year after the US blocked the sale of the Mk41 Vertical Launch System to Turkey under the US Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
The embargo was in response to Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system.
The Lockheed Martin system was supposed to be installed on the TCG Istanbul, the lead ship of Turkey’s I-class frigates.