#Aselsan

Turkish owned, Kazakh manufactured, and soon to be Malaysian based subsidiary of Aselsan recently demonstrated a Remote Weapons Station based around the 7.62x51mm NATO Dillon M134 Minigun at Defense & Security 2017 held in Bangkok Thailand. The design has Stabilised Advanced Remote weapon Platform (SARP) as its name and is apart of Aselsan Malaysia, a subsidiary based in Kuala Lumpur. It is a mount that is designed around a variety of weapon systems, primarily the .50 BMG M2 and the FN MAG. However it can also be utilized with a Russian AGL and an M134 Minigun. Included with the platform are a thermal imaging capability, automatic target tracking (to include low flying drones), ballistic computer, and an ability to work in numerous environments. The company has stated that the design is in use by 13 different countries.

IDEF 2017 occurred in May of this year, but we missed this important Turkish development when it comes to ammunition. MKEK, the Turkish state-run armament company, and privately owned Aselsan signed agreements at IDEF 2017 to cooperate on the design and manufacture of “Smart” 40x46mm Low Velocity for use in UBGLs or stand alone launchers employed by the Turkish Military. The two companies have already worked together on a similar project, being the 35mm Anti-Aircraft using various technologies, most likely for different air burst capabilities. It would appear that MKEK will handle the manufacture, as it already manufactures standard 40x46mm munitions, and Aselsan will work on the actual electronics package, with the companies expertise in technology. What this “Smart” ammunition most likely entails is the ability to detonate a shell at a set distance from impact, thus denying an enemy the ability to hide behind cover. If this cooperation is successful, it will bring Turkey to the forefront within the MENA region with an advanced 40x46mm targeting capability, very rare throughout the world as well.

Turkish defense technological company Aselsan will demonstrate a product originally introduced in January of this year (not covered on TFB yet) at IDEF 2017 in Turkey (late May). The Van Kedisi dual thermal/IR sight is similar in size to products that FLIR usually puts out. What is interesting about this optic is that it has that duality of both thermal heat imaging and infared capabilities by utilizing two objective lenses and a single ocular lens. There appear to be two versions, a handheld variant, and a dedicated picatinny mounted version. As of yet it looks like Aselsan hasn’t received a contract for it but certainly will be pushing for one. A division of the company that produces scopes in Kazakhstan was previously released and was adopted by the Turkish Armed Forces in the Python. It might have been mentioned in the Turkish accounts of the sight but I can’t fully translate it, that the sight might be made in Kazakhstan as well. If this is the case then that could drive the price of the sight down, much more than if it had been made in Turkey. It looks like it also has a connection port to it that can be connected to a heads up display or this might just be a data download link.