UMTAS | |
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Type | Air-to-surface, anti-tank guided missile |
Place of origin | Turkey |
Production history | |
Designed | 2005-2017 |
Manufacturer | Roketsan |
Produced | 2017-current |
Variants |
|
Specifications | |
Mass | 37.5 kg (83 lb) missile 62 kg (137 lb) launcher |
Length | 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) |
Diameter | 160 mm (6.3 in) |
Warhead | Tandem HEAT / blast-fragmentation / thermobaric |
Detonation mechanism | |
Engine | HTPB‐based solid-fuel rocket motor |
Operational range | 500–8,000 m (0.31–4.97 mi) |
Guidance system |
|
Launch platform | |
References | Janes[1] |
External image | |
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Launch and Warhead test | |
Dual-Stage antitank Warhead |
UMTAS or Mizrak-U (Uzun Menzilli Tanksavar Sistemi) is a modern long range air-to-surface anti-tank guided missile developed by Turkish armor and missile manufacturer Roketsan.[2][3][4][5][6]
The UMTAS program was begun in late 2003 by Turkey's Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM), specifically to provide TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK combat helicopters with an indigenous guided missile.[7] The UMTAS has been designed to engage tanks and heavily armoured vehicles.[8] It can be integrated in various platforms, including helicopters, UAVs, land vehicles, stationary platforms, light assault aircraft, ships.[3]
The UMTAS missile has fire and forget and fire and update infrared guidance with a tandem anti-tank warfare warhead.[2] The laser guided version is marketed as the L-UMTAS.[3] İsmail Demir, the Head of Defence Industry of Turkiye stated that it can engage targets at 16 kilometers.
Phase 1 (design) began in 2005 and finished in 2008.[9]
Phase 2 (development and qualification) began in 2008 and finished in 2015.[8]
The L-UMTAS and UMTAS version have been integrated and fired successfully from helicopters: a Turkish TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK against land targets, and a US Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk against sea targets.
A UMTAS was test dropped successfully from a Baykar Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). The missile was released at an altitude of 4,900 m (16,000 ft) to hit a 2×2 meter target self laser designated from the drone, from 8 kilometres away. These missile tests may be a step in a related program to use MAM weapons with Bayraktar drones.[10]
The MAM-L smart munition was developed from L-UMTAS.[11]
Serial production has begun with the delivery dates set in 2016.[8]
The Geleceğin Muharebe Sistemi (Future Combat System) version of the missile (UMTAS-GM) was displayed in 2023. It features dual IIR/SAL seekers in a flat split-design nose with a bidirectional RF datalink in a cylindrical body and an aligned, cruciform fold-out wing and aft fin assembly. It weighs 41.3 kg (91 lb) and can be equipped with an insensitive tandem anti-tank, high-explosive blast fragmentation, or thermobaric warhead. Range is 16 km (9.9 mi) when fired from land vehicles and naval vessels and 20 km (12 mi) from helicopters.[12]