Turkey supplies Korkut air defence systems to Ukraine, sources say - Middle East Eye
Turkey supplied anti-drone air defence systems to Ukraine earlier this year, allowing Kyiv to test new products and bolster its capabilities, several people familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye.
The sources said Ukraine had imported a small number of Turkish-made Korkut air defence systems, which typically consist of three weapon system vehicles and one command-and-control vehicle. They declined to disclose how many units had been deployed on the battlefield.
Produced by Aselsan, Korkut uses air defence guns to shoot down aerial targets, including the cruise missiles and drones that have become a persistent threat in the war in Ukraine. The system is designed to counter first-person-view and tethered drones using 25-millimetre smart ammunition.
“Korkut has been pretty much successful in countering the Russian attacks,” one Ukrainian official told MEE, speaking on condition of anonymity due to government restrictions. “There were of course some problems but nothing that couldn’t be overcome through some small adjustments.”
The official said Korkut could be considered battle-proven and that Ukraine was interested in purchasing more systems.
“If the pricing is right, we would like to buy more,” the official added.
Reports in 2021 suggested that Aselsan had offered to sell the systems to the Ukrainian army during a defence fair.
Ukrainian officials say many Turkish defence firms are now working with the Ukrainian army to test their weapons and improve their systems’ capabilities. Kyiv has welcomed these initiatives with open arms.
Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol told Turkish television over the weekend that Korkut systems were operational in nine countries. He said the Turkish army, Nato’s second-largest, was already using the systems and that Aselsan had begun exporting the technology after it had proven itself.
“We will announce new Korkut export contracts in coming days,” he said.
Middle East Eye reported in May that Saudi Arabia and Qatar had signed contracts to purchase Korkut 100/25 air defence systems. Iraq was also interested in acquiring the system.
Turkey has provided a wide variety of defensive weapons to Ukraine since the war started, first with Bayraktar TB2 drones and then laser-guided missiles, artillery rounds and machine guns.
