Mass Production of Turkey’s Bozok Laser-Guided Munitions for Drones Begins

Turkey’s TÜBITAK Defense Industries Research and Development Institute (SAGE) has started to mass-produce Bozok miniature munition developed for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Bozok’s firing tests saw it being integrated into the Bayraktar TB2 combat drone.

“Mass production of the institute’s first UAV munition Bozok has started,” Gürcan Okumuş, manager of TÜBITAK SAGE, was quoted as saying by Turkish media. He added that they will start deliveries in batches.

Okumuş also said they developed an even more effective warhead for Bozok and have also extended its range.

“We have developed the penetrating warhead for Bozok. We’re going to have some related firing tests,” he noted.

Bozok is smaller and has a light compact structure in comparison to the MAM-L, which has been actively used by Turkey’s drones. MAM-L is part of the family of domestically developed smart micro munitions (MAM), which also includes MAM-C and MAM-T.

Bozok’s range had been extended to 15 km from the initial 9 km, but its developer looks to boost it even further. “We are looking at where we can bring this further. We are aiming for an even longer range,” Okumuş said.

Bozok reportedly provides effective defense without jeopardizing friendly elements in asymmetric warfare by giving UAVs attack capabilities. Its lightweight and compact design enable it to provide operational conformability for drones where weight is critical.

Bozok's precision guidance is achieved using the semi-active laser seeker. It presents a large-scale anti-personnel effect relying on proximity sensors and optimized target effectiveness.

Mass production of Bozdoğan and Gökdoğan missiles soon

TUBITAK SAGE has also neared the final stage when it comes to its homegrown air-to-air missiles Bozdoğan and Gökdoğan.

“They could be set for mass production soon,” Okumuş said on Friday, adding that they were conducting their latest studies and analysis.

The institute's work on air-to-air missiles began in 2013. It developed Gökdoğan as a short-range, high maneuverability, infrared seeker, and Bozdoğan as a long-range, active radar seeker missile.