SARSILMAZ, one of Turkey’s leading arms manufacturers, introduced many products and solutions at TEKNOFEST Ankara, which Anadolu Agency is the global communication partner of for the 8th time and continues at Etimesgut Airport under the management of the Turkish Technology Team Foundation (T3) and the Ministry of Industry and Technology.
At the festival, the mock-up of the 20 millimeter cannon to be used in the ATAK helicopter, developed by TRMEKATRONIK, which was established with the partnership of SARSILMAZ-Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ), was exhibited.
SARSILMAZ Deputy General Manager and TRMEKATRONİK Board Member Öner Özyılmaz told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they established TRMEKATRONIK in June 2018 with an equal partnership with TAI to produce the nose ball of the ATAK helicopter.
Expressing that the first duty of the company is to produce the 20 millimeter ATAK cannon system, Özyılmaz explained that a new structure with facility security was built specifically for TRMEKATRONİK at the SARSILMAZ Campus. Özyılmaz stated that they passed the stages one by one, such as the creation of the team, the construction of the 200-meter range underground where the ball will be tested, the design of the ball and the production of the first prototypes.
Özyılmaz said, “At the moment, we are testing one of our pre-production cannons in the 200-meter underground range. We are doing the integration studies on the ATAK helicopter with the other. We are planning to complete both studies by the end of the year and to deliver local cannons above the ATAKs that will come off the line by the new year. . It is one of the rare projects in the world that could be started from scratch in such a short time. It is a source of pride and honor for us.” said.
It will also work on different platforms.
Öner Özyılmaz said that SARSILMAZ and other Turkish manufacturers have come a long way in the last 20 years in the light weapons industry.
Özyılmaz stated that as SARSILMAZ, they produce all products in the light weapons industry from 6.35 to 12.7, and said:
“There was a need for a medium-caliber specialized company. TRMEKATRONİK has advanced a lot in this direction. The ATAK cannon may be the first task of the company, but it has become a specialized company with the infrastructure it has established, its barrel production capacity, its facilities to test products, its infrastructure and the human resources it has developed. For example, it has developed its turret and gun. If we separate it into two components, we use the weapon to supply ROKETSAN’s air defense system with the 20-millimeter gatling gun of the ATAK helicopter.We will multiplex these systems on sea vehicles, different land vehicles and on different turrets.ATAK will meet the demands of the gun by optimizing the number of shots per minute together with its own speed due to the ammunition it can carry. ‘ It is an indication of this that the underwing pod or armored personnel carriers produce the 25 millimeter chain cannon. There are also products that follow, continuing intellectually. First of all, the need is to meet the demand of the field, of our own army. Once we start meeting the demands, it will take time to be able to multiply them to different platforms, but it will be much easier.”
Stating that the ATAK nose cannon fires 750 rounds per minute and acts as a “slave” on the pilot’s helmet, Özyılmaz said, “We own the embedded software, electronics and all the mechanical structure. Therefore, we will be on ATAK with a weapon with even higher performance.” he said.
