Inauguration of TÜBİTAK-SAGE “Seeker Technology Development and Test Center”
The “Seeker Technology Development and Test Center” within TÜBİTAK SAGE was opened at a ceremony attended by the Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Mr. Faruk Özlü. Minister Mr. Özlü stated that SAGE and TÜBİTAK’s other institutes were conducting important tasks toward elevating Turkey’s position in technology production and defense technologies.
Executing the opening of the Seeker Technology Development and Test Center under the auspices of TÜBİTAK Defense Industries Research and Development Institute (SAGE), Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Mr. Faruk Özlü expressed that Turkey made progress in production and design in respect to the defense technologies during the last 14-15 years. Attending the presentation on the activities conducted at SAGE and watching the simulation developed on the seeker technology, Mr. Özlü said, “We are executing quite important projects at SAGE. The products emerging as a result of the three projects are currently being utilized by our armed forces. You are also aware of the security conditions of the region in which Turkey is located and there are operations conducted by our armed forces abroad as well. We mainly utilize our own systems and ammunition in these operations. We will conduct our activities to this end in a determined manner. TÜBİTAK SAGE and other institutes of TÜBİTAK are carrying out important tasks in elevating Turkey’s capacity in technology development and defense technologies. The efforts we witness here today are the proof of this. We will be developing systems with higher capabilities and longer ranges and we will be placing them in the inventory.”
Underlining that they were conducting certain activities toward increasing the design development and technology production capabilities in the government organizations in Turkey specifically by TÜBİTAK, Minister Mr. Özlü continued, “These activities envisage a regulation in TÜBİTAK’s business principles as well as a structuring within the facilities of our ministry. We are working on it and we have made certain progress. We are willing to finalize this within the next month.”
Real-like Simulation of 6 thousand tests to be conducted through the Aircraft and Air Platforms
Presenting TÜBİTAK SAGE’s Pentagonal Simulator Infrastructure and the simulation therein to the participants, SAGE Optical Design Unit Chef Head Expert Mr. Bülent Özkan stated that the missiles were considered as intelligent ammunition and that the Pentagonal Simulator was a simulator enabling the real-like tests of a sight and perception unit that is called IIR seeker.
Articulating that the real-like simulation of 6 thousand tests that could be conducted with aircrafts or air platforms are enable through this advanced simulation, Mr. Özkan added, “Here, you can run 6 thousand tests at once. This simulator is a frequently used simulator in the defense industry. A real-like operation could be perceived after the seekers developed at this center are tested over the simulator, and the system developed thereafter is connected to the ammunition and fired from a real air platform for the verification of the activities. Thus, we test 6 thousand different scenarios at once with nearly the same cost.”
Mr. Özkan stressed that these precision devices were manufactured by a maximum of five companies in the country and continued, “The precision and cost of these devices may extend the process but their design could be completed within a period of 1.5 years by a bevy of engineer staff. Intelligent ammunition could direct the targets on the ground-to-air in accordance with the operation rules. Missiles containing seeker caps are more precise than the ones which do not employ them; they in a sense become the eyes of the missile. The seeker cap could detect the location of the target and lock itself onto it to direct the ammunition.”
