New Turkish ATGM under Accelerated Development

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A new weapon is currently in an accelerated phase of development in Turkey, and is intended for airborne infantry and amphibious and special forces.

The 125 mm man-portable short-range anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) was developed by  the Turkish weapons manufacturer Rokestan. Karaok is a single-use, shoulder-launched weapon system with a stated range of 1,000 m-plus. Weighing less than 25 kg (launcher and effector), Karaok is 110 cm long.  

The missile is equipped with a tandem warhead (weight undisclosed) and a new indigenously developed hybrid dual-stage (launch, flight) rocket motor (weight also undisclosed), designed to enable fire from an enclosed space.

Launch modes include lock-on before launch, lock-on after launch, and fire-and-forget; engagement modes include top and direct attack.

Mid-course navigation is enabled through an integrated inertial measurement unit (IMU), with terminal guidance delivered by an imaging infrared (IIR) seeker solution that exploits earlier Roketsan ATGM developments. “The development of the short-range Karaok follows on from, and leverages, the lessons learnt in the maturing of our Umtas long-range [8 km] and Omtas medium-range [4 km] IIR-guided ATGMs,” an official told janes.com.

The official said that the Karaok concept “provides for a new lightweight ATGM solution to meet the requirements of dismounted rapid response units, primarily special forces”. Jane’s understands that Roketsan is currently under contract with the Turkish Ministry of Defense to deliver the new ATGM.