Connotations of Roketsan Çakır Cruise Missile

Çakır Ammunition Family:

Some time ago, ROKETSAN announced that it has developed a new generation cruise missile called Çakır. You can access many news and videos on this subject on the internet. It is understood that the ammunition in question was developed with the logic of a family with many different types, and it was aimed to be fired from many different platforms, both manned and unmanned. I would like to draw your attention to an issue that needs to be emphasized regarding the Çakır missile family, which contributes a great wealth to the ammunition inventory of the Turkish army.

In Naval Operations, Frigates' Area of ​​Influence May Expand:

Let's take a classic frigate. With the help of radar and other sensors on it, it will establish a certain situational awareness area around it. Suppose he could do this within an area of ​​150-200 kilometers, due to the roundness of the earth and the fact that the sea area borders many different islands and beaches. Nowadays, it is said that IDA, or Unmanned Naval Vehicles, is about to become a part of its operation, similar to UAVs. Soon, IDAs will also take their place in wars widely. Let's assume that there are two IDAs assigned to serve with the frigate in question. Since IDAs cannot be equipped with as many capabilities as frigates due to their relatively small size, their detection power is 50-60 km. Suppose the radius can be as much as a circle. It will now be available to the command and control center of the frigate, one of which is 150 km. the other two are 50 km. We will have the opportunity to create three radii 'bubbles' of awareness.

Situational Awareness:

Situational awareness is an important force multiplier for all warring parties, in large theaters, on land, in the air and at sea. The side that can keep its situational awareness at the highest level can follow the enemy and its own troops, 'read' the course of the war, and use advanced information and communication technologies and network-centered warfare capabilities in the most effective, timely and accurate manner. He can make the war go at the pace he wants and he can find the opportunity to stop at a point closer to winning the war. Therefore, in today's warfare, an army can be successful if it directly or indirectly utilizes capabilities that will give it situational awareness at all levels and strata.

On the other hand, the enemy force against you tries to prevent you from using your abilities, either explicitly or implicitly, so that you do not have situational awareness. The enemy intelligence, which is constantly trying to determine the course of action that will develop against you, has to make a natural effort to disrupt your awareness.

That's why, whether it's a ship or an airplane, the war vehicles of the modern world; most of the time it has to keep its combat capability at the highest level without data coming from its sensors or common network. Network-centric operational capabilities, for example, can filter and transmit many command control, intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance information necessary for a frigate. The frigate's command and control center uses this information, but at the same time considers the possibility of standing alone and acts with an understanding that can continue to fight. For this purpose, he has to rely more on his own abilities. From this point of view, for example, the commander of the naval task group may send one of the IDAs to be allocated to the frigate to the depths of the enemy. Compared to manned platforms, the Commander can take risks when necessary, at the point of exposure of unmanned platforms to enemy fire. Advanced defense industry technology; Similar to the use of UAVs in air operations, it has now put an option at the disposal of admirals for naval operations.

Additional Capability Provided by Çakır Missiles:

Supporting this point of view, the Çakır ammunition family has the capabilities to offer a complementary option for our commanders at sea. For this purpose, Çakır missiles are at a distance of 150 km. It can be useful as a new eye that can be opened to the distance. In short, in environments where the possibility of war is high, it may be possible to carry out a reconnaissance operation with the power of sanction / destruction by means of ammunition without risking unmanned platforms. Çakır missiles can be used as a 'consumable' capability at the initial stage without the need to use IDAs first. In fact, this should be seen as a much more important development than it seems.

Developing SİHA / TİHA / MİUS concepts presented different possibilities to the operation planners in terms of joint operations and especially air operations. However, the lack of long range and speed of the mentioned unmanned platforms is a known fact in today's conditions. While thinking that this deficiency should be replaced with other systems or weapons, Çakır missile family was produced by Roketsan. 

The news about it started to catch my attention. I consider that the deficiency in the field that I envisioned in my mind can be filled by Çakır to a certain extent, when some of its limitations are ignored.

For this purpose, a unique family of smart ammunition was needed, one of which could be fired from surface (land and sea) platforms and the other from air platforms. Seeing that the Çakır family, which I consider to have talents matching this need, will be included in the inventory in the near future has been a valuable development, at least for me, in terms of finding answers to my questions.

Ukraine Perspective:

We see that there is very little and controlled information flow about the course of the air operation of the Russia-Ukraine War. In open sources, enough information to evaluate the parties has not been shared yet. However, when you start to examine and analyze the subject in depth, it is possible to reach meaningful results from many pieces of information.

In this context, there was an issue that caught my attention. Vertical air defense systems from the Soviet era were engaged in a horizontal struggle to protect the Ukrainian airspace. As it is understood, the Ukrainian Army, using the intelligence and electronic warfare support provided by NATO from outside the border, has succeeded in getting meaningful results against the Russians. Thus, with the inputs provided from abroad to the domestic systems, the Ukrainians were able to reach the potential to carry out a significant air defense war. In the Ukrainian airspace, we are witnessing an air defense war that is, in a way, asymmetrical but chaotic on the other hand. The flying elements of the Ukrainian Air Force were also used in this war to lure the enemy into dynamic traps when necessary, rather than to pursue individual success.

Russian Perspective:

When we take off the Ukrainian glasses and look at the subject through the Russian glasses, there are also lessons that can be learned for our country. It has become clear that the Russians need a vehicle that can penetrate deeply in the Ukrainian airspace and has the power of sanction. In a way, this need, which is defined as "non cooperative target recognition element", has emerged for the Russians. This need is in line with the requirements of the innovative smart ammunition family, namely Çakır, which I tried to express in the above lines.

Meanwhile, a need that I expected to emerge at the beginning of the war has been left out of the equation due to the successful Ukrainian air defense techniques and tactics. Elements of the "improvised asymmetric air defense systems" implemented by Serbia, Libya and, albeit relatively secretly, Iran did not participate in the war. As you know, Yemen used old air-to-air Soviet ammunition, Wescam, etc. Utilizing the capabilities of various sensors, it has managed to shoot down many advanced aircraft of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition.

Usage of MANPADS:

I was of the opinion that a similar preparation had been made secretly for a while by Ukraine, whose military industry was also developed. However, the intense use of MANPADS and the 'stubborn' approach of Russian Air Force aircraft and helicopters not to use high altitudes despite all these losses enabled the Ukrainians to achieve success by acting with the understanding of the horizontally spread air defense doctrine, even using vertical air defense systems when necessary.

Today, the use of SİHAs and ammunition with the ability to wait for a long time on the target has begun to change the course of the ground war in Ukraine. In particular, significant evaluations have already begun to be made regarding the future of armored operations and the use of tanks in land operations. On the other hand, fiber-optic cable-guided systems, which started in the 1990s, began to come to the fore in order to improve the possibilities and capabilities of artillery, which is one of the most important elements of ground operations. 30 km. Intelligent artillery rockets, which have a range above and above, have become one of the sine qua non of ground operations. The need was met by being filled with artillery shells. The artillery shell is now converted into a forward eye that can shoot. Only thanks to technology, the shape of the solution has changed and the importance of artillery units has increased once again.

Conclusion:

Everything develops step by step. Over time, thoughts take shape and take shape. If the subject is defense, I believe that classical approaches will maintain their validity for a long time. However, the times have begun to shorten compared to the past. Because the cumulative knowledge and accumulation of humanity has increased considerably. Their ability to gather and process information has increased as well. But one still wonders, will we one day be able to use the like of such an advanced eye against aerial platforms?