Turkey advances plan for a national air-defense shield

ISTANBUL — Turkey has finalized key plans for its Çelik Kubbe – Steel Dome – air defense system, a project designed to enhance the nation’s airspace security with advanced, multilayered defense capabilities.

The decision came during the second meeting of the Defence Industry Executive Committee (SSIK), chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last month. The Steel Dome aims to integrate a wide range of air defense assets, creating a real-time operational picture and enabling centralized control with the help of artificial intelligence.

The Steel Dome is a domestic initiative developed by Aselsan in collaboration with Roketsan and Turkish government research institute TÜBİTAK SAGE. It brings together existing and future sensors, communication networks, and weapons under one system for comprehensive airspace protection.

The project’s goal is to establish a unified defense network capable of defending Turkey against emerging aerial threats like drones and missiles.

According to Sıtkı Egeli, an associate professor at İzmir University of Economics, the Steel Dome is not entirely new but rather an effort to integrate various air and missile defense systems developed over the past decade.

“The real key to successful air defense is not just having the right weapons, but integrating all these components under a single command and control system,” he said.

As envisioned, short-range systems like the Korkut self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and Sungur missiles will form the dome’s inner layer. Medium-range Hisar A+ and Hisar O (RF) missiles will engage threats in the middle layer, while the outermost layer will rely on the long-range SİPER missile, which is expected to exceed a range of 100 kilometers. Roketsan is developing an advanced version of SİPER that will extend the range to 150 kilometers.

Turkey is incorporating Aselsan-made radars and communication systems, including the HERİKKS air defense command and control system and the RADNET radar network at the hub of the behemoth program. The components are designed to create a real-time air picture for decision-makers.

Non-kinetic interceptors like the Gökberk laser weapon and the Alka direct-energy weapon also are slated for eventual incorporation into the Steel Dome, but those technologies still need development.

According to Egeli, Turkey had planned to use the ACCS (Air Command Control System) architecture, developed in the 2000s for joint use by all NATO members, as the brains of the new program. But unresolved issues over the alliance software led Turkey to develop a national solution as a supplement instead, he said.

Egeli added said that the Russian S-400 air defense system, purchased by Turkey in 2017, will not be part of the Steel Dome architecture, as the S-400 does not align with Turkey’s long-term air defense strategy.