Turkish defense firm Roketsan has begun delivering the man-portable Sungur anti-aircraft missile to the Turkish Armed Forces, Turkish Defense Industry Agency president Ismail Demir revealed.
The company has delivered the first batch of the variant, expected to replace the FIM-92 Stinger surface-to-air missile.
1️⃣Portatif hava savunma füze sistemimiz SUNGUR, platformlardan sonra tek er tarafından omuzdan atılan versiyonuyla da Mehmetçiğin hizmetinde!
İHA’lar, jetler ve helikopterlere karşı etkili olan SUNGUR Silah Sisteminin ilk kafilesini TSK’ya teslim ettik. Hayırlı olsun!@roketsan pic.twitter.com/6yipDQvuAV
— İsmail Demir (@profismaildemir) July 24, 2022
Vehicle-Mounted Version Operational
The Turkish Armed Forces already operates the vehicle-mounted version of the weapon as a short-range air defense system.
The missile is effective against aerial threats such as cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, low-flying fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, according to the manufacturer.
The missile is reportedly being integrated with air and naval platforms as well.
Features
The missile warhead consists of a high-explosive partial piercing warhead and a programable fuse.
The fire-and-forget missile can strike targets at 500 meters to eight kilometers (0.31-5 miles) and an altitude of four kilometers (2.48 miles).
It can be integrated with the HERIKKS-6 air defense early warning command and control system and also features Identification Friend or Foe.
Best in Class
Demir claimed that Sungur is better than other man-portable air defense systems in its category.
“The weapon stands out with its imaging infrared seeker head, which is resistant to deception countermeasures, with a longer range than its counterparts, and the opportunity to lock on enemy elements from a greater distance than the eye can see,” he wrote on Twitter.
