DSEI 2025: Aselsan Expands Tolun Family With Air And Ground-Launched Precision Strikes On Hardened Targets
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During DSEI UK 2025, Aselsan presented its growing family of precision-guided munitions, positioning them as a cornerstone of Türkiye’s advanced strike capabilities. The Tolun series, comprising the baseline Tolun, the infrared imaging-guided Tolun-IIR, and the ground-launched Tolun-S variant, illustrates how the company seeks to address the evolving challenges of contested environments. Their display underscored the importance of adaptable strike solutions that combine extended range, high accuracy, and reduced exposure for platforms in modern battlefields.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The display of Tolun, Tolun-IIR, and Tolun-S at DSEI UK 2025 highlights how Aselsan is not only providing enhanced capabilities for the Turkish Armed Forces but also signaling to the international defense community its readiness to shape future concepts of precision strike (Picture source: Army Recognition Group)
Tolun is the foundation of the family, a GPS/INS-guided air-to-surface munition capable of engaging multiple soft or hardened targets with precision. Designed in partnership with TÜBİTAK SAGE, its 139 kg design delivers a range of 55 nautical miles and can penetrate one meter of reinforced concrete at significant distance. Carried on Aselsan’s Smart Pneumatic Quad Rack (SADAK-4T), aircraft such as the F-16 can simultaneously employ up to eight Tolun munitions, dramatically increasing sortie efficiency while minimizing collateral damage. Its foldable wings ensure extended range, making it a relevant choice for urban operations where accuracy and limited blast effects are paramount
Tolun-IIR enhances this concept with the integration of an imaging infrared seeker, providing man-in-the-loop control through a pod-based data link. With a maximum range of 43 nautical miles and a CEP under three meters, it offers pilots the ability to update target selection mid-flight, including against moving targets, without compromising accuracy. The inclusion of CRPA anti-jamming technology ensures resilience in heavily contested electromagnetic environments. By combining GPS, INS, and IIR guidance, Tolun-IIR provides flexibility in scenarios where GPS denial or high-value moving assets are present
Extending the family beyond airborne platforms, Tolun-S represents a decisive step toward multi-domain strike. Integrated with the Göktan ground-based launch system, Tolun-S combines a solid propulsion unit with the same penetrative warhead concept, achieving ranges of up to 115 kilometers. The system provides 360-degree engagement without requiring aircraft penetration into hostile air defense zones, thereby reducing operational risks. It retains the ability to defeat hardened targets, with delayed initiation fusing programmable via the Göktan fire control system. Resistant to spoofing and equipped with anti-jamming technology, Tolun-S ensures effectiveness in high-threat environments. Its capacity to deliver precision effects from land-based platforms broadens strategic options, enabling forces to operate in denied airspace or complement air campaigns with ground-launched precision fires
By offering an interoperable family of munitions across air and land domains, Aselsan positions the Tolun line as a direct answer to the increasing demands for survivable, flexible, and accurate strike systems in modern warfare. Compared with Western equivalents such as the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) or GBU-39 series, Tolun distinguishes itself with its scalability across platforms and the integration of ground-launch options that diversify employment doctrines. Strategically, this allows Türkiye to strengthen its independent defense production base while offering partners and export customers an adaptable strike solution aligned with the realities of contested environments.
The display of Tolun, Tolun-IIR, and Tolun-S at DSEI UK 2025 highlights how Aselsan is not only providing enhanced capabilities for the Turkish Armed Forces but also signaling to the international defense community its readiness to shape future concepts of precision strike. With their combination of accuracy, survivability, and multi-domain employment, these systems are poised to play a defining role in the next generation of high-intensity conflicts.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
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During DSEI UK 2025, Aselsan presented its growing family of precision-guided munitions, positioning them as a cornerstone of Türkiye’s advanced strike capabilities. The Tolun series, comprising the baseline Tolun, the infrared imaging-guided Tolun-IIR, and the ground-launched Tolun-S variant, illustrates how the company seeks to address the evolving challenges of contested environments. Their display underscored the importance of adaptable strike solutions that combine extended range, high accuracy, and reduced exposure for platforms in modern battlefields.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The display of Tolun, Tolun-IIR, and Tolun-S at DSEI UK 2025 highlights how Aselsan is not only providing enhanced capabilities for the Turkish Armed Forces but also signaling to the international defense community its readiness to shape future concepts of precision strike (Picture source: Army Recognition Group)
Tolun is the foundation of the family, a GPS/INS-guided air-to-surface munition capable of engaging multiple soft or hardened targets with precision. Designed in partnership with TÜBİTAK SAGE, its 139 kg design delivers a range of 55 nautical miles and can penetrate one meter of reinforced concrete at significant distance. Carried on Aselsan’s Smart Pneumatic Quad Rack (SADAK-4T), aircraft such as the F-16 can simultaneously employ up to eight Tolun munitions, dramatically increasing sortie efficiency while minimizing collateral damage. Its foldable wings ensure extended range, making it a relevant choice for urban operations where accuracy and limited blast effects are paramount
Tolun-IIR enhances this concept with the integration of an imaging infrared seeker, providing man-in-the-loop control through a pod-based data link. With a maximum range of 43 nautical miles and a CEP under three meters, it offers pilots the ability to update target selection mid-flight, including against moving targets, without compromising accuracy. The inclusion of CRPA anti-jamming technology ensures resilience in heavily contested electromagnetic environments. By combining GPS, INS, and IIR guidance, Tolun-IIR provides flexibility in scenarios where GPS denial or high-value moving assets are present
Extending the family beyond airborne platforms, Tolun-S represents a decisive step toward multi-domain strike. Integrated with the Göktan ground-based launch system, Tolun-S combines a solid propulsion unit with the same penetrative warhead concept, achieving ranges of up to 115 kilometers. The system provides 360-degree engagement without requiring aircraft penetration into hostile air defense zones, thereby reducing operational risks. It retains the ability to defeat hardened targets, with delayed initiation fusing programmable via the Göktan fire control system. Resistant to spoofing and equipped with anti-jamming technology, Tolun-S ensures effectiveness in high-threat environments. Its capacity to deliver precision effects from land-based platforms broadens strategic options, enabling forces to operate in denied airspace or complement air campaigns with ground-launched precision fires
By offering an interoperable family of munitions across air and land domains, Aselsan positions the Tolun line as a direct answer to the increasing demands for survivable, flexible, and accurate strike systems in modern warfare. Compared with Western equivalents such as the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) or GBU-39 series, Tolun distinguishes itself with its scalability across platforms and the integration of ground-launch options that diversify employment doctrines. Strategically, this allows Türkiye to strengthen its independent defense production base while offering partners and export customers an adaptable strike solution aligned with the realities of contested environments.
The display of Tolun, Tolun-IIR, and Tolun-S at DSEI UK 2025 highlights how Aselsan is not only providing enhanced capabilities for the Turkish Armed Forces but also signaling to the international defense community its readiness to shape future concepts of precision strike. With their combination of accuracy, survivability, and multi-domain employment, these systems are poised to play a defining role in the next generation of high-intensity conflicts.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
