Saha Expo 2026 – Roketsan debuts four new missiles, Neşter, Cida, Mini Cruise Missile and Cirit C-UAS
At the Saha 2026 International Defence & Aerospace Exhibition, Turkey’s leading missile manufacturer, Roketsan, unveiled four new missiles, that add to the impressive display of systems showcased on top of the company stand. These range from the Cirit C-UAS, developed to address one of today main threats, to the Cida long-range antitank missile, to the Mini Cruise Missile, capable to reach enemy defensive systems at range, and finally to the Neşter smart micro munition
While the company stand was dominated by one of the largest displays of missiles seen at an exhibition, four systems developed using Turkish technology were hidden to visitors on the morning of the opening day, awaiting for the unveiling ceremony that took place in the afernoon, at the presence of the Turkish Minister of Defence and the top representatives of the armed forces.
The first system was developed to cope with one of today maor threats on the battlefield, that of unmanned air systems, in its various forms, from FPVs, to loitering munitions, to surveillance drones which mission is to call in lethal effectors. Known as Cirit C-UAS, its name shows its close relationship to the well known Cirit laser-guided missile. A low-cost missile, designed to avoid depleting top-tier missiles inventories to cope with low-cost enemy systems, the Cirit c-UAS maintains the 70 mm diametre of the Cirit and is 1.9 metres long. Its mass at launch is 17 kg, and it can reach targets within a range of 5 km. Its guidance system is based on a semi-active laser (SAL) seeker the purposely developed C-UAS warhead being able to neutralise up to Group 2 UAVs flying at low altitude, detonation being triggered by a proximity fuse. At Saha Expo the missile was showcased beside a model of a 4×4 pick-up light vehicle fitted with a four-tube launcher and four spare missiles over the rooftop.
Destroying enemy armour even before it come into direct contact with friendly troops remains a key issue in a peer to peer confrontation. The Cida new long-range anti-tank missile addresses this requirement, being capable to hit targets well beyond line of sight, its range when launched from an air platform being 55 km, which is reduced to 35 km when launched from a surface-based platform, land or naval. A canister launched weapon, the missile itself has a mass of 65 kg and is 2 metres long. It is available with three different guidance systems; one is based on a hybrid TV-imaging InfraRed (IIR) seeker to which a radiofrequency datalink is added, the second keeps only the IIR and the datalink, while the third uses a SAL seeker. This allows commanders on the field to select the weapon best suited for the mission, which can operate either in full autonomy or in cooperation with a target illuminating party. The Cida is designed to engage different types of targets at range, among them man battle tanks, armoured vehicles, combat vehicles, stationary or on the move. To do so a choice of three different warheads is available; anti-tank with tandem shaed charges, high-explosive blast, and fragmentation thermobaric.
The war in Ukraine highlighted the need to have munitions at controlled cost and capable to be mass produced. To answer such requirement in the long-range engagement field Roketsan developed its Mini Cruise Missile. Capable to be deployed by unmanned combat air vehicles, it is 2.4 metres long, has a diametre of 200 mm, and at launch its mass is 125 kg. Designed to cope with fixed and moving maritime and land targets, which are neuralised by its 30 kg high-explosie blast fragmentaton warhead, it has a range of 250 km its guidance suite being made of a TV camera, inertial platforms, anti-jam GNSS, and barometric altimeter.
From big to small, last but not least comes the Neşter is a MAM-L munition variant designed for high precision hits with minimal collateral damage. A smart gliding munition, it can be deployed from light attack aircraft and UAVs, its mass is 23 kg, and has a range of 15 km when dropped from a 20,000 feet altitude by a platfor flying at 100 knots. The munition is 950 mm long with a 160 mm diameter and carries a unique warhead that does not contain explosive; its terminal effect is based on kinetic energy, and shortly before impact the warhead deploys purposely designed metalic blades that make it effective against personnel, light armoured vehicles and other soft targets. Guidance is provided by an inertial navigation platform and a SAL seeker.
Photos by P. Valpolini
