UMTAS

TAI T129 Attack Helicopter armed with UMTAS

The UMTAS program was initiated in late 2003 by Turkey's Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM), specifically to provide T-129 ATAK combat helicopters with an indigenous guided missile.[7] The UMTAS has been designed to engage tanks and heavily armoured vehicles.[8] It can be integrated to various platforms (Helicopters, UAVs, Land Vehicles, Stationary Platforms, Light Assault Aircraft, Naval Platforms).[3]

The UMTAS missile features "fire and forget" and "fire and update" infrared guidance with a tandem anti-armor warhead.[2] The laser guided version is marketed as the L-UMTAS.[3] It is capable of engaging targets at 8 kilometers.

Capabilities:[2][3][1]

• Fire Behind Mask
• Can be used in day or night and in adverse weather conditions
• Tandem warhead, effective against reactive armors
• Insensitive munition characteristics against liquid fuel fire and bullet hits
• Communication of seeker image to the user and command by user using Data Link.
• Lock-on before launch or Lock-on after launch (L-UMTAS)
• Update of aim point on the target (UMTAS)
• Switching targets during flight (UMTAS)
• Direct-attack / Top-attacks (UMTAS)
• Fire-and-Forget, Fire-and-Update modes (UMTAS)

Phase 1 (design) was launched in 2005 and completed in 2008.[1]

Phase 2 (development and qualification) was launched in 2008 and completed in 2015.[8]

The L-UMTAS and UMTAS version have been successfully integrated and fired from the Turkish T-129 ATAK helicopter against land targets and from SH-60 Sea Hawks against sea targets.

The missile has also been successfully tested fired from the Bayraktar TB2 UCAV. The missile was dropped from an altitude of 16,000 ft. to hit a 2×2 meter laser-designated target self designated from the drone, at a distance of 8,000 meters.[9]

Serial production has begun with the delivery dates set in 2016.[8]