Türkiye launches Steel Dome air and missile defense system
2024-08-16
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Conceptual image of the "Steel Dome" air defense and anti-missile system. Image source: social media platform "X"
Comprehensive compilation Zhang Haotian
Due to concerns about the spillover of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Middle Eastern countries are working hard to improve their air defense and anti-missile capabilities. Turkey recently announced a multi-layered defense system that targets Israel's "Iron Dome" system as a competitor and named it "Steel Dome."
The "Steel Dome" system was developed by Aselsan Group, one of Turkey's major military industrial enterprises. The country's defense industry department issued a statement saying that this is a network-centric integrated air defense and anti-missile system assisted by artificial intelligence, and its main task is to protect Turkish airspace from air threats from different altitudes and distances.
The pictures posted by Aselsan CEO Ahmed Akyol on the social media platform "X" show that the "Steel Dome" system covers a variety of air defense weapons from small-caliber artillery to missiles, connecting them with radars, early warning aircraft and reconnaissance satellites through data links. Turkey's plan is significantly different from Israel's "Iron Dome": the "Iron Dome" is only the part of Israel's air defense and anti-missile system responsible for terminal defense, while the "Steel Dome" is larger in scale, equivalent to the combination of Israel's "Iron Dome", "David's Sling" and "Arrow" three air defense systems.
Turkish defense expert Can Kasapoglu told the U.S. Breaking Defense website that the "Steel Dome" is not a single weapon system, but an overall architecture for air defense and anti-missile combat scenarios, and is supported by electronic warfare equipment; this layered defense concept was generated in an environment with diversified threat types, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict is the "incubator" of related concepts.
Israel's Iron Dome system has been in operation for decades, and in recent years has also added anti-drone capabilities. In contrast, the Steel Dome is still in the design verification stage. Breakthrough Defense pointed out that if the Turkish military industry can successfully complete the preliminary work, it is not ruled out that the Steel Dome system will attract the interest of Arab countries.
Source: China Youth Daily Client
