At the New System Introduction and Facility Opening Ceremony organized with the participation of President Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN on November 12, 2020, the KARAKULAK High Frequency Direction finding and interception System and the KORHAN 35mm Weapon System developed by Aselsan were some of the prominent systems exhibited at the event.

The KARAKULAK High Frequency Direction finding and interception system, developed by Aselsan for the Land Forces Command within the scope of the project initiated by the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), is an Electronic Warfare (EW) System that performs scanning in the HF frequency band, estimating the directions of the detected communication broadcasts, locating, determining parameters and recording functions. Run by two operators, the system has the ability to find direction, location, detect and analyze signals with its antenna structure effective against ground and skywave targets. The KARAKULAK system, with its shelter, air conditioning units, generators, antennas, antenna cables and other accessories, is ergonomically mounted on 2 5-ton class tactical wheeled vehicle platforms that provide high mobility in the tactical field. 3 sets of KARAKULAK Systems consisting of System and Support Vehicles were delivered to the Turkish Land Forces Command on September 11, 2020 after the completion of Acceptance and Inspection Tests. KARAKULAK is capable of conducting pre-mission planning and post-mission analysis and has the ability to locate infrastructure on the digital map.  Additionally, two or more systems activated on the field are able to conduct target acquisition by the coordination achieved through the appropriate communication infrastructure to be selected.

KORHAN 35 mm Weapon System Exhibited with AKKOR Active Protection System

Another system exhibited at the ceremony was the KORHAN 35mm Weapon System developed by Aselsan, which was developed taking into account the requirements of Land Forces Command.  The KORHAN 35mm Weapon System was developed by Aselsan with domestic resources in order to enhance the capabilities of the Turkish Armed Forces and the cutting-edge technologies employed meet today's battlefield needs.

KORHAN is a new generation armored combat system with high firepower, equipped with advanced target detection and tracking systems, equipped with the latest technology self-protection systems and environmental awareness systems, in order to provide the highest level of user and system continuation. Due to its open and extensible architecture, updating and additions to the system based on the needs to arise in the future will be implemented with domestic resources. In addition to the tracked and tactical wheeled configurations of KORHAN, the amphibious configurations are also available in accordance with the requirements of swimming in the water. The KORHAN 35mm cannon has a high rate of fire and is used as the main gun. The production of the cannon is made by the Machinery and Chemical Industry Corporation using domestic resources. The KORHAN system is also capable of using the 35mm Airburst Ammunition developed and produced domestically by Aselsan, agian free from foreign dependency. For the main gun, there are 100 ammunitions available in the turret and 200 spare ammunitions are stored in the vehicle. Loading of spare ammunitions into the turret is done under armor protection in the vehicle. The system also has a 7.62mm machine gun mounted co-axial with the main gun for self-defense against close threats from the land. 

KORHAN has a high level of effectiveness against targets that are behind cover through the use of intelligent ammunition, as well as being effective in the neutralization of armored and light armored land elements. The KORHAN system also has the ability to defend itself against helicopters, fighter aircraft at low altitudes and unmanned aerial vehicles for intelligence and offensive purposes. The automatic linkless ammunition feeding mechanism developed by Aselsan allows for the selection of suitable ammunition for the type of threat. Armor-piercing, anti-personnel, airborne or destructive ammunition types can be loaded into the weapon system according to operational needs and cost-effective utilization is provided by choosing suitable ammunition for the threat type during battle. The Turret, designed as an unmanned type for maximum user and personnel protection, allows maximum space for personnel and spare ammunitions by minimizing interference within the vehicle. The turret has two-axis stabilization ability. In this context, the turret unlimited rotation capability of nx360 degrees on the azimuth axis and the weapon can rotate between -10 and +45 degrees on the elevation axis.

KORHAN is equipped with new generation communication systems developed by Aselsan to meet the intensive communication needs of today’s battlefield. The system also has the ability to perform all tasks within the command and control network to coordinate and synchronize elements for joint work. KORHAN has high survivability through the use of laser detection and warning system (LUS), active self-protection system “AKKOR”, composite or ceramic modular armor protection and smoke. In addıtion, KORHAN has full dominance on the battlefield and superiority over the enemy with a 360 degree situational awareness panoramic vision system (YAMGÖZ), gun dependent sniper and independent commander sight systems, battlefield recognition system (MSTTS) and satellite type Mini Unmanned Air Vehicle (MIHA). The KORHAN System can be automatically directed and neutralize the threat by detecting the direction of the threat using the Sniper Locating System (AYHTS) on the turret when the system is under fire.

The KORHAN system has a Gunner Sight System which has an electro-optical package that can be rotated on the elevation-axis independently and rotated on the azimuth-axis semi-dependent to the shooting line. There is also a Commander Sight System, which can act completely independently on the elevation and azimuth axis. All optical sensors are equipped with a powerful video target tracking capability. By means of the integrated structure of the Gunner Sight System and the Commander Sight System, there is a continuous target search by the Commander and automatic transfer of the target to the Gunner (Hunter / Vibrator) ability. KORHAN has an Ambush Mode in which the system can run quietly for a long time near the enemy line. In this mode, components that make noise in the vehicle (external power unit, vehicle engine, etc.) are not operated and the system consumes as little energy as possible because it cannot be fed from external power sources in this mode. While in the ambush mode, only the compulsory units (such as situational awareness) are powered and the noncompulsory ones are kept in sleep mode. The system comes out very quickly from this mode and can respond to threats if needed. When the mission critical status of the system is assessed, ease of maintenance / repair, common modular units to be developed can be used interchangeably and minimized MTTR (minimum time to repair) has been considered during system design