Turkish Frigate Successfully Launches First SAM from the MİDLAS Vertical Launch System
The MİDLAS Vertical Launch System (VLS), developed by Turkish missile manufacturer Roketsan, successfully launched the HİSAR-D RF Missile for the first time from TCG Istanbul (F-515), the lead ship of the İstif (İ) Class Frigates. With this test, for the first time in Turkey, a domestically developed air defense missile was launched from a naval platform using a domestic launcher.
The test launch was attended by Defense Industry Agency President Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün, Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, Roketsan General Manager Murat İkin, Aselsan General Manager Ahmet Akyol, Havelsan General Manager Mehmet Akif Nacar, and STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz.
In a statement about the development, Defense Industry Agency President Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün said: “I wholeheartedly congratulate our Naval Forces Command personnel, as well as Roketsan, Aselsan, Havelsan, and STM companies, who took part in this critical success. May the ‘vertical launch capability’ of our warships and the ‘national air defense umbrella’ our navy has gained in this way be beneficial to our country.”
STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz, in his post on his X account, wished that the development would be beneficial for the Turkish Navy and Turkish Defense Industry and said: “Our TCG ISTANBUL frigate, the warship with the highest domestic production rate in Turkey, which we have brought to our Navy under the leadership of our Defense Industry Agency and the main contractor of STM, will create a multiplier effect in the defense of the Blue Homeland with its weapons, electronic warfare and sensor systems. As Turkey’s engineering power at sea, we will continue to equip our Navy with leading combat platforms with advanced technology.”
MİDLAS (which stands for National Vertical Launch System) is a vertical launch system developed in collaboration with ASELSAN and ROKETSAN to create an equivalent to the Mark 41 vertical launch system in production in the United States. The system, which was originally scheduled to enter service in 2027, has been pushed forward four years because the US has created various obstacles for the MK41 VLS to be used in İSTİF class frigates, and the system’s delivery to Turkey has been continuously delayed.
MİDLAS will first be used on the ships of the İSTİF Class Frigate Project, the second phase of the MİLGEM program. Within the scope of the project carried out by a business partnership of STM-TAİS, 8 I-class frigates, each with 16 MIDLAS VLS cells, are being built for the Turkish Naval Forces. The Turkish Naval Forces commissioned TCG Istanbul, the lead ship of the İstif (İ) class frigates, on January 19, 2024. The second, third, and fourth ships of the project, TCG İZMİR, TCG İÇEL, and TCG İZMİT, are scheduled to enter service in the first quarter of 2026. The production schedule for the project’s fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth ships, which were approved by the Defense Industry Executive Board (SSİK) on January 3, 2024, is currently unknown. These vertical launch systems will eventually be integrated into TF-2000 Air Defense Destroyers, which will have 96 MIDLAS cells on board. The TF-2000 project, whose design and roadmap studies are currently underway, calls for the construction of four air defense destroyers. In addition to this total, the construction of four additional destroyers will be optional. If everything goes as planned, Turkey will have its first TF-2000 destroyer in service in 2027.
The Hisar-D RF missile, the naval variant of the HİSAR RF missile, which is also employed in the Hisar-O Medium Altitude Air Defense Missile System, will be the first missile launched from the MİDLAS Vertical Launch System. Following the HİSAR-D RF, which is estimated to have a range of 35-40 kilometers, the system will use naval versions of the SİPER Block I missile with a range of 100 kilometers, the SİPER Block II missile with a range of 150 kilometers, and the SİPER Block III missile, which is expected to have a range of over 200 kilometers. In addition, efforts are continuing to integrate ATMACA Missiles, which have a range of 220+ km, a high-explosive fragmentation warhead equivalent to 88 kg TNT, and data link capabilities, into the MİDLAS Vertical Launch System.