Aselsan shows a GP bomb piercing a meter of reinforced concrete
ANKARA ($1=18.61 Turkish Liras) — The fighter jets and helicopters of the Turkish Army and Turkish Air Force will be armed with a new locally produced bomb in the future. Aselnas, the largest Turkish manufacturing company in the field, displayed the latest air-launched bomb, the Tolun IIR.
- Turkey tested an indigenous long-range SIPER missile defense system
- No more Safran engines, Turkey puts its own on cruise missiles
- Turkey’s newest Akıncı UCAV is already on a mission over Syria
The Tolun IIR is a general-purpose [GP] bomb. In Turkey, they have already begun to designate the Tolun IIR as the local equivalent of the American Mark Mk-81 bomb, also known by the nickname Firecracker. The Turkish bomb was presented yesterday during the international exhibition SAHA EXPO 2022, which started in Istanbul, Turkey.
Details
Turkish air aces will be able to arm their fighters with up to eight such bombs per aircraft. I.e. two sets of four bombs per wing mount. The Tolun IIR is equipped with, in addition to an infrared head, as the name [IIR] indicates, they additionally have GPS/INS guidance. The Tolun IIR is designed to engage both stationary and moving targets.
One meter of reinforced concrete penetrates this bomb, Turkish media claim. This means that this so-called mini-bomb will be very effective against enemy positions, buildings, underground bunkers, hideouts, and caves. The IIR seeker will allow the Turkish pilots to independently guide the bomb, but most likely this function will be used to change course and redirect to another target. This means that at any moment the pilot receives information from the bomb. I.e. having a two-way data link is of utmost importance.
Turkey intends to arm its drones with the Tolun IIR as well. Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci, if they are deadly today, they will be even more so tomorrow. As they say in such moments: the devil is in the details.
Aselsan is expected to integrate a dual bomb release system very soon. According to Turkish sources, the range of this weapon is 100 km, but under suitable weather conditions. I.e. range may be reduced in bad weather.
***
Follow us everywhere and at any time. BulgarianMilitary.com has responsive design and you can open the page from any computer, mobile devices or web browsers. For more up-to-date news, follow our Google News, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook pages. Subscribe to our Newsletter and read our stories in News360App in AppStore or GooglePlay or in FeedlyApp in AppStore or GooglePlay. Our standards: Manifesto & ethical princliples.