The SpetsTechnoExport company, part of Ukraine’s state-run defense production giant UkrOboronProm, has approved the text of a contract to produce 120-millimeter Konus guided missiles for Turkish state-held company Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Kurumu, or MKEK, the Ukrainian defense complex reported on May 1.
The deal was struck on the first day of the IDEF-2019 international arms exposition in the city of Istanbul. The parties agreed on the contract’s costs and delivery dates, UkrOboronProm stated. However, the Ukrainian complex did not disclose any concrete details beyond that.
The contract’s first stage envisages that the weapons will be produced by the Kyiv-based Luch construction bureau. They will then be delivered to Turkey along with appropriate guiding devices, so that the Konus missiles can be integrated into the ordnance of Turkish main battle tanks.
In the second phase of the contract’s implementation — after “a partial transfer of the technologies” — the Ukrainian missiles will be produced by MKEK, the complex added.
The agreement will reportedly be signed in the coming weeks and then production of the missiles will begin.
Unlike the usual Ukrainian 125-millimeter caliber missiles, the Konus missiles feature the standard NATO 120-millimeter caliber. According to UkrOboronProm, the missiles are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 5 kilometers, generally a much wider effective range compared to standard tank rounds.
The 120-millimeter Konus anti-tank missiles produced by the Luch design bureau in Kyiv. (UkrOboronProm)
The missile’s dual warhead can destroy an enemy vehicles’s reactive armor — which is designed to protect the tank by exploding when hit by an incoming shell — and penetrate up to 800 millimeters of armor.
According to UkrOboronProm, the deal with MKEK is not only an opportunity for Ukrainian arms enterprises to produce high-precision hardware for the Turkish Armed Forces, but also to increase the presence of Ukraine’s military production in Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian markets, particularly in nations operating armored vehicles with 120-millimeter cannons and actively cooperating with the Turkish defense production complex.
In addition, the Turkish government signed an agreement with SpetsTechnoExport to provide Ukraine’s military with Turkish-produced hardware. According to Anadolu news agency, the deal includes Dortgoz-S thermal scopes for anti-tank missile systems as well as military-purpose radio sets produced by Turkish-based Aselsan company.
