Türkiye Signs Procurement Contract for ROKETSAN’s ÇAKIR Cruise Missile

Türkiye’s Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) and missile manufacturer ROKETSAN have signed a procurement contract for the ÇAKIR cruise missile, clearing the way for the weapon to enter service with the Turkish Land Forces. According to a statement by the SSB, the signing ceremony took place at the agency’s headquarters in Ankara.

A self-funded project reaches procurement

ÇAKIR began as ROKETSAN’s own research and development initiative before being backed by the SSB. The missile was unveiled in 2022 and has since been test-fired from multiple platforms, including the Bayraktar AKINCI unmanned combat aircraft.

SSB President Prof. Haluk Görgün said the programme has given Türkiye “a deterrent and highly capable cruise missile capability”, noting that critical components from the seeker head to the turbojet engine were developed domestically and that around 200 companies contributed to the project under ROKETSAN’s prime contractorship. The Land Forces Command supported the qualification process.

One missile, many launch platforms

ÇAKIR is designed for surface-to-surface and air-to-surface use against both land and naval targets. According to ROKETSAN, the missile has a range in excess of 150 km and can be employed from ships, unmanned aerial vehicles and land vehicles. Under the new contract, it will also be fired from the KARA ATMACA weapon system that is set to join the Turkish Land Forces inventory — placing a precision deep-strike capability and a land-attack missile within a common system architecture.

Why it matters

The contract turns a company-funded design into a funded army programme and adds a compact, multi-platform cruise missile to Türkiye’s strike portfolio alongside the larger SOM and ATMACA families. For export customers watching Turkish missile programmes — Indonesia’s Republikorp signed a cooperation agreement covering ÇAKIR in 2025 — a confirmed domestic procurement order is typically read as a maturity signal.

Source: Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) statement, October 2026; ROKETSAN product data.