‘Skywolf’ munitions family for Turkish combat drones to enhance defense capabilities

By Goksel Yildirim

ANKARA (AA) – The Skywolf family of unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) munitions developed by Turkish defense startup Astech is set to strengthen Türkiye’s defense capabilities by joining the nation’s growing roster of UCAV munitions, a key export category in the Turkish defense industry.

Astech will unveil the Skywolf Ground Attack Munitions (GAM) family for the first time at the SAHA 2024 International Defense and Aerospace Exhibition in Istanbul, taking place from Tuesday to Saturday this week.

Founded by a team of experienced engineers, Astech has participated in several missile and munition projects, leading to mass production in the Turkish defense sector. This experience equips the company with the expertise to implement innovative weapon system solutions, including the Skywolf GAM family.

Astech provides a wide range of advanced defense solutions, from munition system designs to vehicles, missiles, subsystems, sensors, seekers, power systems and rocket engines.

With a focus on high-tech products, Astech’s specialized engineering teams aim to carve out a niche in the international defense arena through global collaborations and partnerships.

As the startup prioritizes solutions to meet contemporary defense needs, the GAM family emerged as its first product line.

- Türkiye’s UCAVs to be more powerful and strike at longer distances with Astech’s GAM family

The Skywolf GAM family consists of mini smart weapon systems designed for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and UCAVs. It includes three variants: the GAM-A, with a range of 20 kilometers (12.4 miles); the GAM-B, with a range of 40 kilometers (25 miles); and the GAM-D, with a range of 80 kilometers (50 miles).

The modular design of the GAM family allows customization to meet specific mission requirements, offering four different seeker options and two warhead types. This enables precision strikes against both fixed and moving targets using advanced guidance technologies.

While the avionics systems and platform interfaces are standard across the three models, they each have unique features. The GAM-A serves as the basic configuration, while the GAM-B and GAM-D incorporate different wing kits, with the GAM-D featuring a propulsion system for enhanced range.

The GAM product family provides significant operational advantages on the battlefield with three range options and warheads weighing 16 kilograms (35 pounds).

Additionally, the GAM-X, the largest variant in the product family, is designed for penetrating armored and protected targets, featuring larger warhead options for enhanced destruction capability.

The GAM family is anticipated to transform battlefield dynamics, particularly when integrated with Turkish UCAV systems. Astech’s GAM warheads are reported to deliver two to three times more power than comparable industry offerings and enable longer ranges.

The GAM features a fire-and-forget capability along with a human-in-the-loop (HITL) firing mode, allowing pilots to interact with the munition and update targets in real-time.