DEFENSE NEWS - Production Agreement for SİPER and HİSAR Projects

On December 15, 2023, a ceremony was held in Ankara for the signing of the serial production agreements for the SİPER and HİSAR projects (SİPER Ürün-1 ve HİSAR Projelerinin Seri Üretim Sözleşmeleri İmza Töreni). "Ürün" translates to "product" in Turkish.

HİSAR-A (HİSAR for "citadel" and A for "alçak," "low") is the name given to Türkiye's national short-range low-altitude air defense missile system, while HİSAR-O (O for "orta," "medium") is the national medium-range medium-altitude missile system. The national long-range high-altitude missile system, HİSAR-U (U for "uzun," "long"), has been named SİPER ("shelter").

The agreements signed on December 15, 2023, include additional orders for HİSAR-A and HİSAR-O systems, which have been in service with the Turkish Armed Forces since 2021 as per their respective project timelines. The final deliveries of these systems and project completion are scheduled for 2025. As for SİPER Product-1, it represents the manufacturing phase following successful final tests.

HİSAR-A is Türkiye's national response to the T-LAlADMiS (Turkish Low Altitude Air Defence Missile System) project launched in late 2006 by the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM). Initially open to international competition, hence its acronym in English, it aims to fulfill the Turkish Land Forces' requirements for ground-to-air defense of armored and mechanized brigades during deployments, complementing existing cannons such as the BOFORS L-60/70/70T/M1A1, OERLIKON GAI-D01, OERLIKON GDF-001/003, M42A1 DUSTER, M55, RHEINMETALL MK-20 RH-202, and KORKUT, depending on their aging status. With an acquisition range exceeding 15 km, HİSAR-A is expected to gradually replace existing very short-range low-altitude missile systems, including STINGER ManPADS, STINGER ATILGAN, STINGER ZIPKIN, RAPIER MK.2B, and FIM-43 REDEYE. It is developed under the leadership of ASELSAN (for towed and autonomous versions) and ROKETSAN (for the ManPADS version).

HİSAR-O is Türkiye's national response to the T-MAlADMiS (Turkish Medium Altitude Air Defence Missile System) project, also launched by SSM on March 21, 2007, for the Turkish Land Forces. Similar to T-LAlADMiS, it was initially open to international competition (with an English acronym), but to meet increasing goals for industrial self-reliance set by Turkish authorities, ASELSAN was also selected as the lead contractor. HİSAR-O aims to replace MIM-23 HAWK systems transferred to Türkiye under the Southern Region Aid (SRA) from the United States, deployed in 2005 within two firing squadrons of the 15th Missile Base (15. Füze Üs Komutanlığı) in Alemdağ/İstanbul, subsequently upgraded to HAWK XXI. Thus, the Turkish Land Forces gain a medium-altitude medium-range air defense capability previously only available in the Turkish Air Force.

Regarding the HİSAR-U system, Türkiye's interest in long-range air defense and antimissile capabilities dates back to the 1990s during the Gulf War, but the decision by the Defence Industry Executive Committee (Savunma Sanayii İcra Komitesi – SSİK) to acquire a regional long-range air and missile defense system (UMBHFSS/T, in Turkish) was only made in June 2006. The project, named T-LoRAMiDS (Türkiye / Long-Range Air-and Missile-Defence System) due to its international competitive bidding, initially planned the purchase of 4 long-range air and missile defense systems, each with 3 batteries, totaling 12 batteries, with each battery comprising 6 launchers, totaling 72 launchers.

To recall, by early 2010, 4 systems were in competition in response to the tender: the PATRIOT PAC-2 GEM-T/PAC-3 from RAYTHEON and LOCKHEED MARTIN (United States), the HY-9 (HONGQI-9)/FD-2000, derived from the Russian S-300V system proposed by the Chinese company CPMIEC (China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation), the S-300 PMU2/ANTEY 2500 from ROSOBORONEXPORT (Russia), and the offer from EUROSAM (France-Italy) based on the SAMP/T system in service with the French Air Force. Pending the final decision and to fill its antimissile capability gaps, Türkiye used NATO resources under Operation Active Fence, materialized since 2013 within the NATO Support To Türkiye (NS2T) mission.

After reviewing the applications and numerous political-military maneuvers by competitors, Türkiye decided on October 10, 2016, to acquire the Russian S-400 TRIUMPH systems from ROSOBORONEXPORT. Concurrently, it continued its technical cooperation with EUROSAM with the approval of French authorities. That same year, it launched its national SİPER project, a name easier to remember than GUMS/UMBHFSS [Geliştirilmiş Uzun Menzilli (Hava Savunma) Sistemi / Uzun Menzilli Bölge Hava ve Füze Savunma Sistemi, advanced long-range air defense system / regional long-range air and missile defense system].

The SİPER system is intended to replace the American MIM-14 NIKE HERCULES missile batteries in service with four firing squadrons at the 15th Missile Base in Alemdağ/İstanbul. These missiles, of a very old generation, offer limited to nearly non-existent antimissile capabilities against current threats.

The SİPER contract was signed on January 15, 2018, between the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) and the industrial partnership of ASELSAN, ROKETSAN, and TÜBİTAK-SAGE. The delivery of SİPER Product-1 systems to the Turkish Air Force is expected by mid-2024. As for SİPER Product-2, with a range greater than Product-1, the first test firings were conducted on August 26, 2023, at the Sinop test center on the Black Sea coast, announced as successful.

The HİSAR range extends beyond the basic A, O, and U versions to meet the "layered" approach to air defense sought by the Turkish military. Examples include versions like K (ManPADS), A+ (improved version of A), O+ (improved version of O), ON (high-medium altitude), OD (naval version to replace RIM-7 SEA SPARROW), G (using GÖKTUĞ air-to-air munitions), G+ (improved version), or Air Base/Seaport.

The contract signed at SSB on December 15, 2023, marks a significant step for Türkiye's air defense, underscored by the presence at the event of Minister of National Defence Mr. Yaşar Güler, Chief of the General Staff General Metin Gürak, President of Defence Industries Mr. Haluk Görgün, Commander of the Naval Forces Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, Commander of the Land Forces General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, Commander of the Air Forces General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu, and Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr. Celal Sami Tüfekci. It reflects the political commitment announced by the Minister of National Defence to achieve a fully national ground-to-air and antimissile defense capability within 3 years, as research and development results in high-speed target destruction follow.

Article written by Patrice MOYEUVRE, General Officer in 2s of the French Air and Space Force, researcher at IRIS and Director of defense and security projects within Advantis.