As a result, Turkey’s drones were able to wipe out a large portion of Bashar al-Assad’s army in Idlib using pinpoint technology. During the Royal Air Force’s online Air and Space Power Conference 2020, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace urged the force to go in this direction, hinting that ‘Even if half the claims are true, the implications are game-changing’.ĭuring Operation Spring Shield against the Syrian regime and pro-Iranian militias, the KORAL set the stage for Ankara’s drones by securing aerial dominance for the TSK. Many defence ministers, military experts and security analysts worldwide have called on their countries and armies to observe what Turkey has done in this field and to draw appropriate lessons, in order to be prepared for the new age of automated wars. This innovative military doctrine has generated a lot of discussion. The doctrine requires a high level of cooperation, coordination and integration between the deployed EWS (KORAL in this case), the UAVs (Aerospace Anka-S and Bayraktar TB2) and the smart micro-munitions (MAM-L and MAM-C). Ankara incorporated the KORAL in a new unconventional drone doctrine that prescribes the use of drones as an air force in a conventional battle. Since 2016, the KORAL has been battle-tested in different environments, including critical theatres in Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan, demonstrating impressive capabilities and executing complex roles in the first-ever wars won by unmanned systems.
In this sense, the EWS filled a gap and offered new opportunities for the TSK. The system was contracted in 2009, and within seven years, the KORAL EWS entered the Turkey Armed Forces’ (TSK) inventory. It came as a response to increasing threats and to meet the growing needs of the Turkish air force command. The KORAL was part of a Land-Based Stand-off Jammer System project adopted by the Defence Industry Executive Committee around two decades ago. This kind of operation usually involves the use of electromagnetic energy against communication systems and radar systems. It consists of two subsystems: the first provides electronic support operations for conducting ISR, while the other is dedicated to attack operations to degrade, neutralise or destroy enemy combat capabilities. The system offers advanced options and supports Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) operations. The KORAL is a land-based transportable EWS with an effective range of 150–200 km. Over the past decade, Turkey’s homegrown defence industry has been rapidly expanding, allowing Ankara to add more critical defence systems to its inventory than ever before. This achievement is often attributed to the government’s ambition, aggressive strategy, and quest for strategic autonomy. Defense News’ 2020 annual ranking of the top 100 defence companies globally included seven Turkish companies two of them – ASELSAN and TAI – already made the 2019 SIPRI ranking for global defence companies. It was established by the Turkish Army in 1975 to meet its communication needs. Over the past two decades, the government has directed more funds towards several national defence companies and scientific institutions, such as ASELSAN, HAVELSAN and TUBITAK, to develop its EWS capabilities.ĪSELSAN is Turkey’s leading defence company specialised in electronic technologies and system integration. Turkey realised the importance of this field as early as the 1970s.
The last few years, in particular, have witnessed intensified competition between these countries to dominate the EMS. A country lacking such capabilities risks endangering its military assets on the battlefield and therefore losing a war before it starts.Ĭurrently, a number of countries are advancing electronic warfare systems (EWSs), including Russia, the US and China. In modern warfare, the increasing dependence on radars, radio signals and satellites to command, control and coordinate the movement of or communicate with military assets requires sophisticated electronic capabilities in the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS).
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