Turkey’s Atmaca Anti-Ship Missile Achieves Milestone with First Underwater Test
Turkey has taken a significant step forward in its naval capabilities with the first-ever underwater test-firing of the domestically produced Atmaca anti-ship missile. The test was conducted from the TCG Preveze, a Preveze-class attack submarine, in the Mediterranean Sea.
Announcing the achievement, Turkish Defence Industries Secretary Haluk Görgün highlighted the country’s progress in developing an independent defense industry. While specific details of the test remain undisclosed, footage released by authorities showed the encapsulated Atmaca missile being loaded onto the submarine before its successful launch.
The Atmaca, developed by Turkish defense company Roketsan, has been in the works since 2009. Designed to replace the aging Boeing RGM-84 Harpoon, it offers a long-range precision strike capability for both naval and ground-based targets. The missile carries a 220-kilogram high-explosive blast fragmentation warhead and has a range of 250 kilometers, making it a formidable addition to Turkey’s naval arsenal.
Equipped with advanced guidance systems, including an inertial navigation system, GPS, and radar altimeter, Atmaca ensures high accuracy in targeting. It is available in multiple variants, including ship-launched, ground-launched, and submarine-launched models, demonstrating its versatility.
This successful underwater test follows a previous milestone in 2023, when the TCG Preveze was used to test-launch the domestically produced AKYA heavyweight torpedo. The recent advancements reflect Turkey’s growing ambition to achieve self-sufficiency in defense technology.
Atmaca has also garnered international interest, with Indonesia becoming its first export customer after ordering 45 missiles, followed by Malaysia, which integrated the weapon into its littoral mission ships.
With this latest test, Turkey strengthens its position as a key player in advanced missile technology, moving closer to a fully independent defense ecosystem.
