Italian defence news outlet Rivista Italiana Difesa reported that Astore UAV will use CİRİT missiles with single canister-launcher units with one missile per wing. The launcher was developed for tactical UAVs and was shown for the first time on a Turkish KARAYEL-2 UAV manufactured by Lentatek.
Astore UAVs with CİRİT missiles will be used as placeholders until Italy takes delivery of MQ-9 Block 5 armed UAVs. The deliveries aren’t expected to begin before 2025.
Laser-guided missiles can reach their targets faster than gliding munitions, relying on high gliding performance to get similar ranges. However, there is less room for sharp manoeuvres due to different layouts and short time-to-target.
CİRİT is a 70 mm laser-guided missile as a cost-effective alternative to ATGMs for softer targets. The missile features three warhead options: triple effect (Anti-personnel, incendiary, shaped charge), high explosive and thermobaric.
CİRİT can be launched from pods developed explicitly for it with capacities of one, two and four missiles. Alternatively, it is compatible with standard launchers used for Hydra 70 rockets.
The missile is integrated on multiple Turkish platforms, such as the T129 ATAK attack helicopter, ULAQ USV, SALVO USV, and KAPLAN STA’s KMC-fitted configuration. Surface platforms can use CİRİT missiles with the KMC weapon system developed by ROKETSAN to launch a wide range of missiles such as UMTAS and CİRİT. There are plans to integrate the new UMTAS-GM extended-range ATGM and SUNGUR air defence missiles on the KMC system.
