Turkish Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli announced on 27 February that Turkey’s main battle tanks (MBTs) could soon receive high-tech active-protection system that destroys the projectiles before they strike.
According to the ministry, Turkey Army’s tanks will be equipped with a system, called the Pulat, designed to sense and destroy incoming anti-tank warheads 8-10 meters away.
The Pulat active protection system work by detecting the anti-tank missiles or rockets approaching to the platform with its high technology radar, and then disables them at optimum range from the platform by using Hard-Kill method. The new active protection system developed by Turkish defence firm Aselsan.
The Pulat provides 360 degrees full protection, depending on the placement of the modules on the platform, against anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) and rockets. PULAT is effective in both asymmetric warfare and operational environment of main battle tanks. PULAT can also handle multiple threats effectively at the same time as a result of its distributed architecture.
System Features :
- Hard-kill ability
- 360 degree full protection depending on module placement
- Fully operational in severe environmental conditions such as dust, mud, rain, snow and fog as result of radar detection method
- Effective against low-range anti-tank threats in asymmetric warfare
- Fully operational against multiple simultaneous threats
- Integration capability to different armored vehicles
New Turkish active protection system can be adapted to different armored vehicles by altering its modular and distributed system solution.
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Official sources told Defence Blog that the new Turkey’s active protection system was jointly designed and developed by Aselsan and the Ukrainian Base Center for Critical Technologies Microtech with the direct participation of the UkrOboronService (a state company which major activity is the realization of state interests of Ukraine in the field of export/import of products, military-technical and special-purpose services).
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The new project grew out of a previous Ukrainian Zaslon active protection system. The Zaslon, as well as the Pulat, consists of a radar to detect incoming missiles and small rockets to rush out and disable the incoming threat. Each counter-measure module packs explosive charge that detonating and forming a dense fragmentation ring that destroys incoming projectiles on impact. Modules can point forward, sideways or vertically, to protect from attacks from above. The system’s response time is 0.1 seconds.
According to the current information, In February the first jointly developed Pulat active protection system was tested at Ukrainian test range and soon be delivered to Turkey. Already in March, it is planned to conduct a series of tests in Turkey, after which it probably be decided to equip M60T and Leopard-2 tanks of Turkish Armed Forces.
