Türkiye’s Aselsan unveils advanced radar systems for naval platforms

Aselsan, one of the leading companies in the Turkish defense industry, has shared detailed information about the radar systems it has developed for naval platforms. The company offers a wide range of tested and field-ready products, from conventional radars to multi-frequency, multi-faced, fixed four-dimensional AESA radars.

Based on naval platforms’ mission profiles, operational concepts and weapon systems of naval platforms, Aselsan designs its radar systems with various architectures and capabilities. These scalable radar systems, with their modular architectures and building blocks, enable quick adaptation to meet various technical requirements like range, accuracy and coverage.

Key systems in Aselsan’s radar portfolio include the Smart-S Mk2, Cenk 200-N (Mar-D), Cenk 400-N, Cafrad, Cenk 300-N, Cenk 100-N, Akrep 100-N (AKR-D), Akrep 300-N (Akrep), Akrep 100-NI (AYR), Akrep 200-N (NUR), Alper 100-N (Alper-FMCW), Alper 200-N (Alper-P), and Alper 210-N (Alper-PS).

Smart-S Mk2 Radar

The Turkish Naval Forces incorporated the Smart-S Mk2 radar into their inventory as part of the Milgem project. To meet increasing domestic demand, Aselsan has been producing this radar under license in collaboration with Dutch defense firm Thales Netherlands. After designing and qualifying the S-band transmit-receive units, Aselsan exported over 400 units to Thales Netherlands for use in projects outside Türkiye.

Cenk 200-N (MAR-D) Radar

The Cenk 200-N (MAR-D) radar operates in the X-band, has a 100 kilometers effective range, and features an integrated identification friend or foe (IFF) antenna. Various projects, including LST, DMDEG, Barbaros MLU, and ADKG, have already signed export agreements using this radar.

Cafrad radar system

The TF-2000 platform is developing the Cafrad (multi-function phased array radar) system as its primary sensor. Designed with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology, it performs both air and surface defense warfare functions. The development of Cafrad highlights Türkiye’s growing capability to produce advanced radar systems using local resources.

Solutions for small targets

Aselsan has also developed radar systems to counter the increasing threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Aselsan specifically designed the Cenk 100-N (Burak) and Akrep 100-N (AKR-D) systems to detect and track small targets with low radar cross-sections.

Alper 210-N for submarines

The Alper 210-N (Alper-PS), developed for submarines, stands out as a navigation radar with Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) capability. Türkiye’s Preveze and Ay-class submarines, as well as Pakistan’s Agosta-class submarines, utilize this low detection probability X-band radar.

Aselsan’s modular and scalable design approach allows for quick and effective solutions tailored to different platform and mission requirements, significantly enhancing Türkiye’s naval defense capabilities while boosting the company’s competitiveness in international markets.