ASELSAN’S GOKBERK Laser Takes On FPV Drone Threats

ASELSAN’S GOKBERK Mobile Laser Weapon System successfully tracked and destroyed first-person view (FPV) drones during recent tests by the Turkish defence giant. Demonstrating its rapid engagement time and high-precision targeting, GOKBERK will have a critical role in Türkiye’s national air defence system, Steel Dome.

The company had taken important steps in the new generation field of directed energy weapons, previously proven effective against rotary- and fixed-wing kamikaze drones, GOKBERK showcased its advanced capabilities by detecting, autonomously tracking, and eliminating FPV drones across multiple test scenarios, demonstrating exceptional speed and precision in engagement.Developed with contributions from key industry partners including TUBITAK BILGEM, all major subcomponents of GOKBERK have been designed and produced domestically, reinforcing Turkiye’s defence industry autonomy.

As a critical component of Steel Dome, GOKBERK stands out as a near-field air defence weapon system that enables hard kill-soft kill destruction of threats such as mini/micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). GOKBERK combines ASELSAN’s İHTAR platform and the laser weapon on a platform with 6×6 mobile deployment capability instead of a distributed architecture. GOKBERK uses an indigenous laser source with high beam quality for hard kill destruction of targets, while also providing soft kill destruction with an electronic jammer developed by ASELSAN.

The system can perform highly precise target tracking with various electro-optical
systems on the guidance unit. With artificial intelligence (AI)-supported algorithms, the system’s
tracking and identification capabilities are maximised, enabling GOKBERK’s swift destruction of targets. Thanks to the cooler designed for 24/7 operation, GOKBERK can fire uninterruptedly for a long time with maximum impact using minimum power, standing out as a highly cost-effective solution.

GOKBERK will be instrumental to defending fixed facilities such as military bases,
airports, power plants and oil refineries, as well as a wide range of applications thanks to
its mobile deployment capability. With the data obtained from the firing tests and trials of
GOKBERK conducted under different weather conditions, improvement and development
work on the system continues.-asl/adj/dl (Pix:ASELSAN)