TCG Istanbul fires Hisar-D missile from Midlas VLS

TCG Istanbul seen transiting the Bosphorus Strait enroute to the test site on 2 March. (Cem Devrim Yaylali)

The Turkish Navy performed its first Hisar-D missile launch from the Midlas vertical launch system (VLS) installed onboard the TCG Istanbul in the second week of March.

The event marked the first launch from the indigenous VLS on the high seas. The frigate was observed sailing northbound through the Bosphorus Strait to the test site on 2 March.

Haluk Görgün, the president of the Defence Industry Agency (SSB), shared a video of the firing on social media. The video showed the loading of the canisters with the missile on TCG Istanbul while the ship was at Karadeniz Ereğli naval base.

A single Hisar-D air-defence missile was launched from the Midlas VLS. The Hisar-D radar-guided missile used during the test is a naval version of the Hisar-O air-defence missile being developed for the Turkish Land Forces. The imaging infrared seeker of the original missile was replaced with an radio frequency seeker for the naval version. The missile has a dual-pulse engine with an approximate range of 25 km.

The Midlas launcher consists of 16 cells, with each Midlas module comprising eight cells with one canister in each cell being compatible for quad-pack canisters. It has an expandable architecture, and there are no restrictions for expansion. The system has a MIL-STD-1399/NATO Standardisation Agreement (STANAG) 1008 compatible power interface. Midlas is a critical project for the Turkish Navy, as it looks to replace the MK-41 VLS.

For more information on the Istanbul-class frigates, please seeTurkey's first Istanbul-class frigate starts sea trials.