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| Turkey Reportedly Secretly Tests 'Tayfun' Ballistic Missile |
Ankara - Turkey has reportedly developed a short-range ballistic missile in secret and successfully carried out a test launch of the weapon over the Black Sea on Tuesday. It was reported by Bloomberg.
Citing two anonymous sources not authorized to comment on the matter, Bloomberg reported that the missile was fired from a mobile platform stationed at the airport near the northeastern port city of Rize.
The launch was carried out at around 07.00 local time. "The missile reportedly covered a distance of 561km in 458 seconds, striking a target off the coast of Sinop the farthest distance a Turkish-made missile has ever traveled," according to a Bloomberg source as quoted by Russia Today, Wednesday (19/10/2022).
Several videos purported to show missile launches have also been shared by Turkish media. In the video, the Tayfun rocket, developed by weapons manufacturer and defense contractor Roketsan based in Ankara, has a range of 150+ and 280+ kilometers, respectively.
Roketsan also supplied the Turkish army with the J600T YILDIRIM and BORA ballistic missiles. Turkey's Defense Industries Agency, a government-established civilian agency tasked with dealing with the defense industry, has refused to divulge any information about the project.
However, it is believed that the Tayfun missile will be capable of striking targets both on land and at sea, and has a range of under 1,000 km, which is the hallmark of short-range ballistic missiles. According to Bloomberg sources, the development of the Tayfun SRBM has been going on for several years.