The ATILGAN Pedestal Mounted Air Defense System, designated ATILGAN PMAD is a Turkish self-propelled surface-to-air missile system which provides mobile, short-range

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

protection for ground units against

cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

s, low-flying

fixed-wing A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct ...

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s. and for every short range air defense. The ATILGAN was originally developed for the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...

and is currently used by the

Turkish Land Forces The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...

. The ATILGAN system was also used by the

Turkish Naval Forces The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...

History

The ATILGAN Pedestal Mounted Air Defense System, was developed over a period of 12 years. PMAD project, which started needs analysis and conceptual design in 1989; Following the feasibility, configuration determination and development studies, it was launched with a serial production contract signed in 2001. PMAD Systems, which have undergone challenging tests and field trials within the scope of prototype development period and serial production line qualification approval, has achieved great success in all the shots made until today. The PMAD system eliminated two German companies in the tender opened in 2005 and in addition became the choice of the Dutch army. PMAD System was launched in two different configurations, ATILGAN and ZIPKIN. Serial production is still continuing by Aselsan and

Roketsan Roketsan Roket Sanayii ve Ticaret A.S. is a major Turkish weapons manufacturer and defense contractor based in Ankara, Turkey. Incorporated in 1988 by Turkey's Defense Industry Executive Committee (''SSİK'') to establish the nation's industri ...

companies. There are 100+ systems in the

inventory.

Overview

The ATILGAN Pedestal Mounted Air Defense System air defense turret mounted on a modified heavy armored/tracked M113A2 vehicle. The turret has two Stinger missile launcher pods, each capable of firing up to 4

fire-and-forget Fire-and-forget is a type of missile guidance which does not require further external intervention after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance, and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the targe ...

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

/ ultraviolet guided missiles in rapid succession. It is operated with a three-man crew the driver, the gunner and the commander. The main mission of Low Level Air Defense System ATILGAN, is the low level air defense of stationary and moving forward troops, convoys and tactical bases in the battlefield.

General features

* Short Reaction Time. * High Hit Capability. * Coordinated use with the Command and Control System. * 8 km Range. * 3 crew. * Fire on-the-move capability. * 8 ready-to-fire Stinger missiles. * Integrated automatic machine gun despite self-protection and near air threats. * Passive target search and tracking sensors, consisting of thermal and daylight TV cameras. * Multi-pulse Laser Range Finder for target distance measurement. * Two-axis stabilized turret providing target search, diagnostic tracking and shooting target on the move. * Firing Control Computer that provides automation of all system functions. * Target identification by IFF providing friendly / unknown distinction for the target. * Operable under all weather conditions. * Detachable operating panel for remote operation up to . * Can be mounted on different carrier platforms, high speed, light and modular turret.

References

{{Reflist Turkish inventions Science and technology in Turkey Surface-to-air missiles of Turkey Military vehicles introduced in the 2000s Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons Aselsan products