The Turkish military notes that the development of MIDLAS was a significant step for the country’s high-powered aircraft, since the installation is intended to replace the American analogue of Lockheed Martin’s Mk.41.
The Turkish company Roketsan showed footage of guided missile launches from the MIDLAS vertical launch system on the newest Navy frigate TCG Istanbul (F-515). The video was published April 15 on the company’s page on the X network (Twitter).
The video fragmentarily shows the process of preparing for the launch of an anti-aircraft missile – loading ammunition into the launch silo, the frigate entering the open sea and the very moment of launch itself.
The frigate TCG Istanbul is armed with a 16-round Turkish universal launcher MIDLAS (Milli Dikey Atım Sistemi) for mounting HISAR-D series anti-aircraft guided missiles.
This system was first tested in December 2022. In practice, its development was a significant step for Turkey in the field of domestic weapons, since MIDLAS should replace the American Mk.41 vertical launch system of Lockheed Martin, which was originally intended for Istanbul-class frigates.
At the initial stage, the Turkish military noted, MIDLAS will be used to launch Hisar anti-aircraft missiles with a range of over 25 km. And in the future, the installation will have to work with missiles with a range of 100 km.
“As part of our project, the development of which is ongoing, SIPER, SAPAN and ATMACA missiles will be able to be launched from MIDLAS in the near future, and in the future we will launch other long-range guided missiles from MIDLAS,” said Haluk Gergün, President of the Turkish Defense Industry Agency.
Let us remind you that the first sea trials of TCG Istanbul took place in June 2023. The ship is designed to conduct maritime surveillance and patrol operations, as well as to prevent potential threats. The frigate with a displacement of 3000 tons can reach speeds of over 29 knots and has modern weapons:
- Milli Dikey Atım Sistemi launcher;
- four ATMACA four-pod long-range anti-ship cruise missiles;
- 76-mm universal artillery mount Leonardo Super Rapid;
- Turkish 35-mm twin anti-aircraft artillery system Aselsan Gokdeniz;
- two 25-mm remote-controlled artillery mounts Aselsan STOP;
- two 324-mm three-tube torpedo tubes for MK-46 Mod 5 / Roketsan ORKA;
- helicopter Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk permanently based in the hangar.
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