Roketsan’s HİSAR-D RF air defense missile scores direct hit in live-fire intercept trial
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Roketsan confirmed that its HİSAR-D RF naval air-defense missile scored a direct hit on a sea-skimming target during a live-fire test off Türkiye’s coast on November 5. The successful intercept marks a major step toward fielding a fully indigenous shipborne air-defense layer for the Turkish Navy.
On 5 November 2025, Roketsan confirmed that its HİSAR-D RF naval air-defence missile scored a direct hit on a low-altitude, sea-skimming target during live-fire testing, an event that underscores Türkiye’s push to field a fully indigenous, layered air shield at sea as reported by Roketsan. The trial follows a series of shipborne and land-based firings that have progressively matured the missile and its integration with the MIDLAS vertical launch system aboard TCG İstanbul. For Türkiye’s Navy, demonstrating a hard-kill solution against sea-skimmers is central to defending task groups against modern anti-ship threats and to reducing reliance on foreign suppliers.
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Roketsan’s HİSAR-D RF air defense missile achieved a direct hit in live-fire testing, advancing Türkiye’s indigenous layered defense against sea-based threats (Picture Source: Army Recognition Group / Roketsan)
HİSAR-D RF is the navalized, active-radar-seeker member of the HİSAR family, derived from the medium-range HİSAR-O RF. It is designed for area and point defence of surface combatants with an advertised range beyond 40 km and engagement altitudes above 15 km. The missile uses a dual-pulse rocket motor, providing an extra burst of energy in the terminal phase to increase endgame manoeuvre and probability of kill, and it is engineered for canisterized launch from the indigenous MIDLAS vertical system now sailing on I-class frigates. Together, the seeker, propulsion profile, and VLS compatibility position HİSAR-D RF as a shipborne solution against high-speed, low-observable aerial threats, including sea-skimming drones and missiles.
The HİSAR line has evolved from low- and medium-altitude ground systems into a layered family that now includes RF-guided variants and a long-range branch culminating in SİPER. After early RF-variant trials in the 2020s, sea integration became the decisive step: in March 2024 the Turkish Navy conducted the first missile firing from MIDLAS on TCG İstanbul, and on 15 August 2025 the frigate achieved its first live target kill with HİSAR-D RF in Black Sea trials. The 5 November 2025 intercept against a sea-skimming target, publicized by Roketsan, adds a demanding engagement profile to the record and confirms repeatable performance across ground-based and shipborne test series.
For the Navy, HİSAR-D RF fills a national medium-range layer that complements close-in systems and future longer-reach interceptors, fitting into Ankara’s broader “Çelik Kubbe” concept of a domestically built, multi-tier air-defence architecture. Practically, it strengthens self-defence and escort roles for I-class frigates, reduces exposure to ITAR and export-control risk, and creates headroom to tailor doctrine and software to Turkish concepts of operation. The programme also runs in parallel with ESSM Block II procurement and integration plans, suggesting a mixed inventory in which HİSAR-D RF provides sovereign depth while ESSM expands coalition interoperability, an approach that can widen export pathways for MIDLAS-equipped platforms.
Authorities have not released line-item costs for HİSAR-D RF or MIDLAS ship sets. However, publicly disclosed awards indicate sustained, multi-year funding for the wider HİSAR portfolio: the SSB signed a mass-production agreement for HİSAR-O+ with ASELSAN and Roketsan, and deliveries under HİSAR-family contracts have been referenced on a 2025–2029 timeline. More recently, on 11 September 2025, ASELSAN reported a €1.65 billion air-defence contract with the SSB, framed as part of the national layered shield, which industry sources link to ongoing HİSAR and related systems. On the naval side, the MIDLAS Vertical Launch System Procurement Project governs integration aboard the I-class, under which MIDLAS has already executed live HİSAR-D RF firings from TCG İstanbul. While no stand-alone export contract for HİSAR-D RF has been announced, the latest identifiable award connected to this ecosystem is ASELSAN’s September 2025 air-defence contract; missile production responsibilities remain with Roketsan under earlier HİSAR agreements.
By proving a clean intercept against a sea-skimming target and doing so within an indigenous VLS-missile pairing, HİSAR-D RF moves from demonstration to credible fleet capability for Türkiye’s first I-class frigate and its follow-ons. The test sequence consolidates a sovereign medium-range layer at sea, supports the country’s layered-defence roadmap, and signals to partners and competitors alike that Ankara intends to field and iterate its own naval air-defence stack at scale. If current contracting trends across the HİSAR portfolio continue, the Navy can be expected to extend integration and build stock depth in parallel with planned ESSM Block II uptake, turning these test cards into routine magazines at sea.
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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Roketsan confirmed that its HİSAR-D RF naval air-defense missile scored a direct hit on a sea-skimming target during a live-fire test off Türkiye’s coast on November 5. The successful intercept marks a major step toward fielding a fully indigenous shipborne air-defense layer for the Turkish Navy.
On 5 November 2025, Roketsan confirmed that its HİSAR-D RF naval air-defence missile scored a direct hit on a low-altitude, sea-skimming target during live-fire testing, an event that underscores Türkiye’s push to field a fully indigenous, layered air shield at sea as reported by Roketsan. The trial follows a series of shipborne and land-based firings that have progressively matured the missile and its integration with the MIDLAS vertical launch system aboard TCG İstanbul. For Türkiye’s Navy, demonstrating a hard-kill solution against sea-skimmers is central to defending task groups against modern anti-ship threats and to reducing reliance on foreign suppliers.
Roketsan’s HİSAR-D RF air defense missile achieved a direct hit in live-fire testing, advancing Türkiye’s indigenous layered defense against sea-based threats (Picture Source: Army Recognition Group / Roketsan)
HİSAR-D RF is the navalized, active-radar-seeker member of the HİSAR family, derived from the medium-range HİSAR-O RF. It is designed for area and point defence of surface combatants with an advertised range beyond 40 km and engagement altitudes above 15 km. The missile uses a dual-pulse rocket motor, providing an extra burst of energy in the terminal phase to increase endgame manoeuvre and probability of kill, and it is engineered for canisterized launch from the indigenous MIDLAS vertical system now sailing on I-class frigates. Together, the seeker, propulsion profile, and VLS compatibility position HİSAR-D RF as a shipborne solution against high-speed, low-observable aerial threats, including sea-skimming drones and missiles.
The HİSAR line has evolved from low- and medium-altitude ground systems into a layered family that now includes RF-guided variants and a long-range branch culminating in SİPER. After early RF-variant trials in the 2020s, sea integration became the decisive step: in March 2024 the Turkish Navy conducted the first missile firing from MIDLAS on TCG İstanbul, and on 15 August 2025 the frigate achieved its first live target kill with HİSAR-D RF in Black Sea trials. The 5 November 2025 intercept against a sea-skimming target, publicized by Roketsan, adds a demanding engagement profile to the record and confirms repeatable performance across ground-based and shipborne test series.
For the Navy, HİSAR-D RF fills a national medium-range layer that complements close-in systems and future longer-reach interceptors, fitting into Ankara’s broader “Çelik Kubbe” concept of a domestically built, multi-tier air-defence architecture. Practically, it strengthens self-defence and escort roles for I-class frigates, reduces exposure to ITAR and export-control risk, and creates headroom to tailor doctrine and software to Turkish concepts of operation. The programme also runs in parallel with ESSM Block II procurement and integration plans, suggesting a mixed inventory in which HİSAR-D RF provides sovereign depth while ESSM expands coalition interoperability, an approach that can widen export pathways for MIDLAS-equipped platforms.
Authorities have not released line-item costs for HİSAR-D RF or MIDLAS ship sets. However, publicly disclosed awards indicate sustained, multi-year funding for the wider HİSAR portfolio: the SSB signed a mass-production agreement for HİSAR-O+ with ASELSAN and Roketsan, and deliveries under HİSAR-family contracts have been referenced on a 2025–2029 timeline. More recently, on 11 September 2025, ASELSAN reported a €1.65 billion air-defence contract with the SSB, framed as part of the national layered shield, which industry sources link to ongoing HİSAR and related systems. On the naval side, the MIDLAS Vertical Launch System Procurement Project governs integration aboard the I-class, under which MIDLAS has already executed live HİSAR-D RF firings from TCG İstanbul. While no stand-alone export contract for HİSAR-D RF has been announced, the latest identifiable award connected to this ecosystem is ASELSAN’s September 2025 air-defence contract; missile production responsibilities remain with Roketsan under earlier HİSAR agreements.
By proving a clean intercept against a sea-skimming target and doing so within an indigenous VLS-missile pairing, HİSAR-D RF moves from demonstration to credible fleet capability for Türkiye’s first I-class frigate and its follow-ons. The test sequence consolidates a sovereign medium-range layer at sea, supports the country’s layered-defence roadmap, and signals to partners and competitors alike that Ankara intends to field and iterate its own naval air-defence stack at scale. If current contracting trends across the HİSAR portfolio continue, the Navy can be expected to extend integration and build stock depth in parallel with planned ESSM Block II uptake, turning these test cards into routine magazines at sea.
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.
