Roketsan SUNGUR

History

Roketsan SUNGUR is a Turkish very-short-range surface-to-air missile developed for the short-range defence of moving and stationary troops and battlefield facilities. The missile can be used in a man-portable configuration and can also be integrated with land vehicles, naval platforms and unmanned aircraft.

SUNGUR uses an imaging infrared seeker with lock-on before launch and fire-and-forget operation. Roketsan publishes a maximum range of about 8 km, while the missile is intended to engage fixed-wing aircraft, rotary-wing aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Development and testing

Development began under a contract signed between the Turkish Ministry of National Defence and Roketsan on 10 September 2013. Program management was transferred to the Presidency of Defence Industries in November 2016. Initial ballistic and inert-warhead firings were conducted at the Sinop test range during 2018 and 2019.

Guided firings with live warheads followed in June 2020. In July 2020 the development program reached a mature public demonstration stage after successful guided tests. A further firing on 18 July 2020 demonstrated an engagement at the published minimum range of 500 m.

A qualification firing on 26 February 2021 successfully engaged a Banshee target drone at the stated maximum range and altitude. Serial-production preparations followed, and the vehicle-mounted configuration was publicly displayed during 2021.

The first batch of the shoulder-fired configuration entered Turkish service in July 2022. Additional deliveries and acceptance activities continued during the following years, although publicly available information does not establish the total number of missiles or launch systems produced.

Burç integration

Roketsan expanded SUNGUR integration to the Burç mobile ground-based air-defence system. On 14 September 2026 the company announced the first firing of a SUNGUR missile from Burç. During the test, the missile successfully engaged a moving aerial target.

Burç combines short-range missiles with a cannon and an integrated sensor suite. The configuration demonstrated in 2026 showed that SUNGUR could operate as part of a mobile, sensor-equipped air-defence vehicle rather than only as a shoulder-fired weapon.

Design

Guidance and seeker

SUNGUR uses terminal guidance through an imaging infrared seeker. The missile locks onto its target before launch and then operates on a fire-and-forget basis, allowing the launcher operator to disengage from the guidance process after firing.

Roketsan describes the seeker as capable of automatic target tracking and resistance to countermeasures. The published seeker field of view is ±40 degrees. The imaging seeker is intended to distinguish the target through its infrared image instead of relying only on a single heat source.

Warhead and propulsion

The missile carries a high-explosive semi-armour-piercing warhead fitted with a programmable impact fuze. Roketsan also describes the warhead as meeting Type 4 insensitive-munition requirements against fuel fire and bullet attack.

Propulsion consists of a launch motor and a two-stage solid-propellant flight motor. The launch motor separates within the launch tube. Roketsan does not publish an official missile speed in the supplied technical information.

Launch configurations

SUNGUR was developed as a modular missile for several launch arrangements. The baseline portable configuration is shoulder-fired. Vehicle installations include a BMC VURAN 4×4 configuration with four ready-to-fire missiles on a stabilised remote-controlled turret.

The missile has also been integrated with the Burç mobile air-defence system. Burç combines SUNGUR missiles, a cannon, search and tracking sensors, electro-optical and infrared equipment, identification friend or foe equipment and a data link. Its stabilised turret supports engagements while the vehicle is moving.

Roketsan also lists naval and aerial platforms among possible SUNGUR launch platforms. Integration with unmanned aircraft has been described as work in progress rather than a confirmed operational capability.

Command and control

SUNGUR is compatible with the HERIKKS-6 air-defence early-warning and command-and-control system. This allows the weapon to receive information within a broader air-defence network instead of relying only on local visual acquisition. Identification friend or foe equipment can also be integrated with the system.

Operational history

The Turkish Land Forces Command is the confirmed service operator of SUNGUR. Shoulder-fired missiles entered inventory in July 2022, and later acceptance activities covered additional single-operator and vehicle-mounted configurations.

SUNGUR has also been used in Turkish live-fire exercises. During EFES 2026 in May 2026, the missile was fielded as part of Turkey's layered air-defence capabilities.

The September 2026 Burç firing demonstrated another operationally relevant integration path. A SUNGUR launched from the mobile system successfully intercepted a moving aerial target during the first announced firing of the missile from Burç.

Variants

• Man-portable configuration: Shoulder-fired configuration intended for very-short-range air defence by dismounted personnel.
• Vehicle-mounted configuration: SUNGUR installation on the BMC VURAN 4×4, using a stabilised launcher with four ready-to-fire missiles and an electro-optical sensor suite.
• Burç integration: Vehicle-mounted configuration combining SUNGUR missiles with a cannon and integrated search, tracking and identification equipment.
• Naval and aerial integrations: Roketsan lists naval platforms and unmanned aerial vehicles as supported or planned platform types, but the supplied evidence does not establish all such configurations as operational.

Operators

• Turkey: The Turkish Land Forces Command operates SUNGUR in man-portable and vehicle-mounted configurations. Deliveries began in 2022 and continued in later years. Publicly disclosed quantities are not available.

Specifications (SUNGUR missile)

General characteristics

• Manufacturer: Roketsan
• Type: Very-short-range surface-to-air missile and man-portable air-defence system
• Length: 1.68 m
• Diameter: 82 mm
• Published weight: 14.5 kg
• Target types: Fixed-wing aircraft, rotary-wing aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles

Performance

• Maximum range: 8 km on one Roketsan specification; 8 km or more in the 2024 product catalogue
• Minimum range: 500 m
• Engagement altitude: Roketsan has published two different figures: up to 4 km from sea level on one product specification and 6 km in its 2024 catalogue

Guidance and propulsion

• Guidance: Imaging infrared terminal homing
• Operating mode: Lock-on before launch, fire-and-forget
• Seeker field of view: ±40 degrees
• Launch motor: Separation-type motor within the launch tube
• Flight motor: Two-stage solid-propellant rocket motor

Warhead

• Warhead: High-explosive semi-armour-piercing
• Fuze: Programmable impact fuze
• Insensitive-munition qualification: Type 4 against fuel fire and bullet attack

Related equipment

• Burç: Roketsan mobile air-defence system combining SUNGUR missiles with a cannon and integrated sensors.
• LEVENT: Separate naval close-in air-defence missile system developed from the SUNGUR technology base with a larger engagement envelope.
• HERIKKS-6: Air-defence early-warning and command-and-control system with which SUNGUR can be integrated.