The T-122 Sakarya is a Turkish

multiple launch rocket system A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volle ...

developed by

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 ...

Overview

As part of the modernization drive undertaken by the

Turkish Military 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 Chief ...

in the 1980s and 90s several new rocket systems were developed for the needs of the

Turkish army 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 ...

. Prototypes of the system were revealed in 1995 with the first vehicles undertaking trials and evaluation in 1996. Production commenced in 1997. The system consists of two pods of 122-mm launch tubes which are hydraulically traversed and elevated. It is equipped with a state-of-the-art fire control system which calculates firing data automatically for rockets with different warheads and is capable of storing up to 20 target coordinates. The vehicle can fire rockets singly or in salvo, with a full forty rocket launch taking less than 80 seconds and blanketing a target area of 500 m × 500 m. In addition the later versions of the T-122 features an integral hydraulic crane which allows reloading of rockets pods within five minutes. The rockets for the system were developed and manufactured by

MKEK The Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation ( tr, Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi or MKE for short), established in 1950, is a reorganization of government-controlled group of factories in Turkey that supplied the Turkish Armed Forces with mili ...

and

, though the T-122 can fire 122mm rockets from the

BM-21 The BM-21 "Grad" (russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit= hail) is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first comba ...

and associated systems. Indigenous rockets are available with

HE-FRAG A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Modern usage so ...

or cluster warheads which can contain either anti-personnel or anti-tank

submunitions A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicl ...

. Maximum range of fire with extended-range rockets is up to 40 km.

Variants

*TR-122: It has a warhead effective radius of ≥ 20 m, warhead weight of 18.4 kg. *TRB-122: It has a warhead effective radius of ≥ 40 m, warhead weight of 18 kg. *TRG-122: Guided rocket. It has a accuracy of ≤ 10 m, warhead effective radius of ≥ 40 m, warhead weight of 13.5 kg with a minimum range of 13 km and maximum range of 30 km. *TRLG-122: Laser guided missile. The missile is same as TRG-122 along with the added laser seeker for

laser guidance Laser guidance directs a robotics system to a target position by means of a laser beam. The laser guidance of a robot is accomplished by projecting a laser light, image processing and communication to improve the accuracy of guidance. The key ide ...

. Accuracy of the missile increased to ≤ 2 m. First production models of the T-122 Sakarya launcher vehicle were based on the German

MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

26.281 heavy utility truck. An improved variant of the system was revealed in 2005 which is based on the MAN 26.372 truck which is also used as the launcher vehicle for the

J-600T Yıldırım The J-600T Yıldırım (''Thunderbolt'') is a conventional battlefield ballistic missile system providing high mobility, designed to attack high-value targets such as enemy air defence installations, C3I centers, logistics and infrastructure facil ...

short-range ballistic missile. The improved system is fitted to use factory-sealed disposable rocket pods that are specifically designed to be maintenance free, resistant to handling and environmental conditions and allow rapid reloading. The updated system can also be fitted with armour and an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

system.

Operators

Current operators

* : >20 * : >140 * * : 48

References

External links