Turkiye’s defence manufacturer MKE has conducted the first live-fire evaluation of its TOLGA short-range air-defence system, demonstrating engagements against a spectrum of drone threats using both jamming and kinetic interceptors.
The trials were held at the Ministry of National Defence’s Karapınar Firing, Test and Evaluation Center and witnessed by representatives of the Turkish Armed Forces and security services. Across eight planned scenarios, the system engaged fixed-wing UAVs, FPV drones and a soft-kill target at roughly 3 km, which was neutralized through signal disruption.
Hard-kill tests employed 35 mm, 20 mm and 12.7 mm weapon systems firing MKE-developed anti-drone ammunition, which disperses metal fragments at a timed distance to create a lethal cloud around incoming targets. The ammunition offers engagement envelopes of up to 3,000 m for the 35 mm round, 1,000 m for the 20 mm, and 300 m for the 12.7 mm variant.
MKE General Manager İlhami Keleş said the results confirmed the system’s readiness for serial production, adding that TOLGA supports Türkiye’s broader “Steel Dome” layered air-defence concept for low-altitude threats.
TOLGA integrates radar, electro-optical sensors and electronic-warfare systems to detect drones at ranges of up to 10 km, with both soft-kill and kinetic options available through a modular command-and-control unit. The architecture allows installation on fixed sites, mobile platforms, armoured or unarmoured vehicles, and naval vessels.
According to MKE, TOLGA is designed as a complete counter-UAS package combining sensors, jamming capability, multi-calibre weapons, and specialized ammunition to address the increasing use of drones on modern battlefields.
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