As technology reshapes the battlefield, electronic warfare (EW) has emerged as a silent yet decisive force. Türkiye’s advancements in this domain are redefining its defense strategies and setting new military benchmarks.
Beyond its combat drones and conventional platforms, Türkiye relies on EW systems for cross-border counterterrorism and military operations, utilizing jamming, deception and rapid response. Battle-tested in Syria, Libya, northern Iraq and Karabakh, these homegrown systems have proven their effectiveness.
With warfare evolving, militaries worldwide are adopting cutting-edge systems and are continuously updating their arsenals. Türkiye, recognizing EWs growing significance, has prioritized their development over the past decade.
Haluk Görgün, the head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), has underscored the strategic advantage of EW. “We observe how the use of electronic warfare-resistant communication devices can be superior and how fast-moving forces can create devastating effects,” he said at an event last year.
While dominance on the battlefield often centers on firepower, electronic systems have turned into unseen heroes in modern conflicts. For Türkiye, which has faced regional threats and terrorism for years, developing a domestic defense industry has been, as officials occasionally say, a matter of existence. Among its achievements are the EW systems KORAL, VURAL (REDET-II) and SERHAT, which have proven instrumental for the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in thwarting hostile radars and enhancing battlefield effectiveness.
Over the past 25 years, Türkiye has conducted numerous military operations to neutralize threats and prevent the formation of terror corridors along its borders with Iraq and Syria. These efforts have showcased the capabilities of its indigenous EW systems.
Ahmet Alemdar, co-founder, editorial coordinator of Defense Türk and a defense industry researcher, says possessing a wide range of land-based products and solutions is the most prominent aspect of Türkiye. He also pointed out that there are a few countries in NATO and even in the world that have developed such a wide range of land-based EW systems, including the U.S., Russia and China.
Alemdar says EW systems backed by artificial intelligence and integrated into unmanned air or land platforms will play a more active role in the field in the future.
“Türkiye is currently focusing on R&D activities in this area. The use of electronic warfare capabilities via satellite platforms will provide a strategic advantage in global operations. It is also essential for Türkiye to develop these capabilities in its space road map,” he noted.
KORAL
Developed by Aselsan, a leader in defense electronics ranked 42nd in the 2024 Defense News Top 100, KORAL is a transportable, land-based EW system composed of electronic support (ES) and electronic attack (EA) components. The ES system excels in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, offering rapid responses to hostile radars with its wide frequency coverage and high sensitivity. The EA system neutralizes threats through jamming and deception.
KORAL’s features include a range of 150-200 kilometers (95-125 miles) and mission analysis tools that allow operators to plan and adapt against diverse threats. Its truck-mounted design ensures rapid repositioning to minimize detection risks.
First introduced to the Turkish Armed Forces in 2016, KORAL gained prominence during Operation Spring Shield in Idlib, Syria against Russian-backed Assad regime forces and it successfully jammed Russian-made Pantsir S-1 air defense systems, enabling Turkish drones to strike with precision. As a result of this operation, eight helicopters, 93 tanks, 36 armored vehicles and 10 air defense systems were destroyed. Similarly, during Azerbaijan’s offensive that saw it liberate the Nagorno-Karabakh region from Armenian occupation, KORAL’s coordination with Turkish Baykar-made Bayraktar TB2 drones also proved decisive.
According to Flight Lt. Chris Whelan, Azerbaijan’s successful use of Baykar’s unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) represented not only a revolution in military affairs but a restatement of the importance of control of the air in warfare.
“It was not the UCAVs themselves but the coordination with other arms which proved decisive, including artillery fires and electronic warfare,” Whelan wrote in the Air and Space Power Review of the Royal Air Force.
He also noted that the combined use with KORAL made Bayraktar TB2 drones “lethal.”
Furthermore, Whelan not only emphasized the effects of the EW systems and their strategic coordination but also pointed to the significance of those systems for the following years.
“As a template, it is already having effects around the world as other nations seek to emulate Azerbaijan’s success, with UCAVs and EW systems likely to become a permanent fixture of the battlefield of the future,” he wrote.
VURAL
Another critical system is VURAL, a dual-component platform for electronic support and attack. It identifies radar parameters such as frequency and pulse width, automatically assessing threats and executing advanced jamming and deception techniques to suppress radar systems.
Equipped with wide frequency coverage and rapid response capabilities, VURAL has also been vital in Türkiye’s cross-border operations.
Feridun Taşdan, a professor at Western Illinois University, emphasized the land-based EW systems’ importance during cross-border operations, where they provided real-time signals intelligence (SIGINT) and electronic intelligence (ELINT) to joint command centers, ensuring the safe and effective deployment of drones.
“Turkish EW assets, which were also located on Türkiye’s Idlib borderlines, continuously kept an eye on the Syrian air defense system activities and provided real-time signals intelligence and electronic intelligence information about their operational conditions and geolocations to the TSK joint command centers,” Taşdan wrote in the Emerging Military Technologies Series of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA).
He also noted: “This information was very critical in the flight planning and tactical employment of the UAVs; otherwise, it would have been catastrophic to fly into the battlefield while many Syrian air defense systems were actively looking for TSK drones.”
SERHAT
SERHAT, also developed by Aselsan, is a radar system designed to detect and track mortar fire with 360-degree scanning capabilities. With a range of up to 20 kilometers, it calculates firing and impact points, aiding countermeasures. Used extensively in anti-terror operations like Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch in Syria against Daesh and PKK terrorist groups, SERHAT has significantly reduced casualties, earning recognition for its effectiveness. Following the operations, approximately 10,400 terrorists were neutralized and 4,000 square kilometers were taken under control and restored.
Beyond KORAL, VURAL and SERHAT, Türkiye’s diverse EW portfolio includes systems like Sancak, or MILKAR, SÖKMEN, PUHU and SEYMEN, each tailored to specific operational needs.
On the other hand, Türkiye needs to close the gap between its regional and global rivals in electronic warfare regarding both tactical and economic aspects. The U.S. holds the first place in investment and development while China aims to adopt an electromagnetic dominance doctrine on the battlefield and Iran displayed a number of electronic capabilities recently.
Moreover, Russia has been practicing its electronic capabilities to disable the Ukrainian forces, like it did in Syria before. Integrating EW systems with all the land, air and sea branches and executing in the combat zones, Russia remains one of the supreme adversaries to catch up for Türkiye.
Having long faced threats by terrorist groups, Türkiye has gone through a profound transformation marked by the development of multiple land, air and sea platforms, including electric warfare systems like KORAL, VURAL and SERHAT, which have not only strengthened its military capabilities in recent years but also offered it a strategic edge. It is possible to say that using those systems in the background during the operations made it easier to reduce the enemy forces and resulted in several military and political achievements. As a result of the cross-border missions in Syria, large areas were cleared from terrorists, numerous weapons and equipment were seized, and safe zones were created for the displaced Syrians.
With its extensive experience in the field, Türkiye should place greater emphasis on these systems to enhance its capabilities against various threats, as control and dominance of the electronic environment are likely to remain crucial in gaining superiority in the future.
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