Türkiye's SOM-J Cruise Missile Completes Live-Warhead Test, Serial Production to Begin

By Bosphorus News Defence Desk

The Test

Türkiye successfully test-fired its SOM-J cruise missile with a live warhead on March 21, striking a representative naval target at sea from an F-16 fighter jet. The missile achieved a direct hit under operational conditions. TÜBİTAK SAGE, the Defence Research and Development Institute that developed the system, confirmed the result on its official website the same day, describing it as the final firing test before serial production.

Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır announced the result publicly, stating the missile hit its target with full accuracy and describing it as an effective force multiplier for critical strike missions.

Alongside the live-warhead strike, engineers simultaneously conducted radar cross-section measurements to verify the missile's low observability in the radio-frequency band.

Roketsan, which manufactures the missile, will now proceed to serial production.

The System

SOM-J, Satha Atılan Orta Menzilli Mühimmat-J, is a member of the SOM cruise missile family developed by TÜBİTAK SAGE. It is designed for compatibility with the internal weapon bays of the F-35, as well as F-16 fighters and armed unmanned aerial vehicles.

The missile weighs approximately 500 kilograms and carries a semi-armour-piercing warhead. According to TÜBİTAK SAGE's official technical specifications, its guidance architecture combines GPS, an inertial navigation system, terrain-referenced navigation, an imaging infrared seeker and automatic target acquisition. A two-way data link enables in-flight retargeting and post-launch control, supporting network-enabled operations.

TÜBİTAK SAGE describes the system's key capabilities as low observability, high maneuverability, post-launch control and network-enabled operations, infrared imaging seeker, automatic target detection, armour-piercing warhead, and the ability to engage land, fixed and moving naval targets.

Integration Ahead

Integration with Türkiye's KAAN fifth-generation fighter and the Bayraktar KIZILELMA unmanned combat aircraft is ongoing at full pace, TÜBİTAK SAGE confirmed. The missile was originally developed in coordination with Lockheed Martin for the F-35's internal weapon bay requirements. Türkiye's exclusion from the F-35 programme following its acquisition of the Russian S-400 air defence system shifted the primary integration focus to national platforms.