The newly developed short-range air defense system (CIADS), LEVENT; Roketsan represents the first phase of the development of new systems and new missile solutions, designed to meet the Turkish Navy’s close-range air defense needs. The system follows the footsteps of the SUNGUR system, which was developed to meet the needs of land elements. After entering mass production, SUNGUR performed well in land vehicle applications and achieved considerable success.
According to the contract signed by the President of the Defense Industry, the prototype production of the Turkish-style fast attack craft (FAC) will be carried out in the Republic of Turkey (SSB) and STM in August 2020 within 30 months after the completion of the initial 24 months of design research. The contract requires the provision of a “close-range weapon system” weapon configuration for the FAC.
LEVENT will be able to operate autonomously or integrated with ship sensor systems, and will be developed in accordance with the FAC schedule in accordance with the requirements of the Turkish Navy Command.
The system to be developed will be the product of Roketsan’s accumulated knowledge of air defense missile systems, technical infrastructure, and acquired subsystem technologies. The system will include national and indigenous sensor technologies (seekers, radio frequency sensors, proximity sensors) developed in early air defense projects, and will work at hypersonic speeds and be highly efficient at long distances, especially against surface targets. In addition to close-range air defense missiles, LEVENT will also have the necessary infrastructure to launch SUNGUR missiles. The ability to launch multiple missiles from a single platform will significantly increase the firepower and flexibility of the Turkish Naval Command.
LEVENT developed by Roketsan will provide manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic modes.The concept of integration and use of the system will be developed in accordance with the requirements of the Turkish Navy Command. The system solution developed in this regard will allow for the integration of the two options with the airborne combat management system, a separate launch console or at the same time.
