Türkiye successfully tests HİSAR-O air defense system with live intercept in missile shield effort.

Türkiye has released footage of a successful live-fire test of the HİSAR-O medium-range air defense system on October 22, 2025. The intercept marks a major step in Turkey’s effort to field a fully indigenous, multi-layered missile defense network.

Video released on social media on October 22, 2025, shows the Turkish Armed Forces conducting a live-fire test of the HİSAR-O air defense missile system, with the missile visibly engaging a high-altitude target after launch from a 6x6 wheeled launcher. The test, believed to have taken place at a secure range in central Turkey, underscores Ankara’s progress toward self-sufficiency in air defense capabilities, a goal that has become more urgent amid regional security pressures and shifting NATO dynamics.
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Türkiye conducted a live-fire test of the HİSAR-O medium-range air defense system on October 22, 2025, showcasing a successful vertical launch and high-altitude interception. (Picture source: Roketsan and Aselsan)

Produced by Turkish defense companies Roketsan and Aselsan, the HİSAR-O represents a critical node in the country’s national air defense framework. Its design features include dual-mode seeker technology, vertical launch capability, and a system architecture intended to neutralize a broad spectrum of aerial threats. With an intercept range exceeding 25 kilometers and a maximum engagement altitude above 15 kilometers, HİSAR-O fills a strategic gap between point-defense and long-range systems in Turkey’s emerging integrated air and missile defense network.

The HİSAR-O missile itself measures 4.6 meters in length with a body diameter of 185 mm. It employs a multi-phase guidance system beginning with initial turn guidance for rapid alignment post-launch. During midcourse flight, it uses inertial navigation systems with data-link corrections from ground-based radars. Terminal guidance is performed by an advanced Radio Frequency (RF) seeker, supported by optimized guidance algorithms designed to distinguish and lock onto high-speed maneuvering threats. The warhead is a high-explosive fragmentation type, engineered for maximum lethality against fast, low-RCS targets.

The system is capable of engaging a wide range of airborne threats, including fighter jets, attack helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), air-to-ground missiles, and cruise missiles. Notably, it has been optimized to address the increasing complexity of modern aerial warfare, where threats can include low-flying drones, stealthy cruise missiles, and precision-guided munitions launched in saturation attacks. The vertical launch system allows for 360-degree coverage and enables rapid response without repositioning the launcher—key for both mobile formations and fixed-site defense.

HİSAR-O is designed for deployment across multiple platforms, including wheeled and tracked land vehicles, and is being adapted for future integration aboard naval vessels, expanding its utility beyond the battlefield into littoral and maritime defense zones.

What makes this latest test particularly significant is the absence of contractor oversight, as Turkish Armed Forces reportedly managed the launch and targeting protocols independently. This suggests the system is nearing full operational deployment status. It also demonstrates Turkey's growing confidence in relying on domestic defense technologies at a time when regional aerial threats—from unmanned swarm attacks to long-range precision strikes—are rapidly evolving.

This live-fire trial adds to a broader modernization drive anchored by the HİSAR family of systems, including the short-range HİSAR-A and the forthcoming long-range SİPER, scheduled for initial deployment in 2026. Together, they are part of Ankara’s “Steel Dome” concept—an integrated, indigenous air defense architecture aimed at full-spectrum protection of critical infrastructure, mobile assets, and urban centers.

In parallel, Aselsan’s sensor systems, such as the KALKAN-II radar, continue to evolve with enhanced target-tracking precision, ECCM capabilities, and digital beamforming. These are integrated into the HİSAR-O fire control loop, supporting simultaneous multi-target tracking and engagement.

The growing maturity of these systems aligns with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strategic goal of eliminating foreign dependency in Turkey’s military procurement, a doctrine now embedded in national security policy. It also reflects the Turkish defense industry’s aggressive posture on the global export market, with countries in Central Asia, North Africa, and Southeast Asia reportedly expressing interest in acquiring Turkish-made air defense systems amid tightening Western export controls and rising regional conflicts.

As of this writing, neither Roketsan nor Aselsan has publicly commented on the exact target profile engaged during the HİSAR-O air defense missile system test. However, sources close to Army Recognition confirm that multiple interceptors were prepared and the launch sequence reflected realistic battlefield parameters. With further validation likely to follow before the end of the year, HİSAR-O is rapidly transitioning from a developmental platform to a frontline asset in Turkey’s evolving air defense doctrine, one increasingly defined by domestic innovation and battlefield self-reliance.