Turkey has adopted the AKKOR 10 active protection system

The Turkish Armed Forces have adopted the AKKOR 10 system for the interception and physical destruction of threats such as anti-tank guided missiles.

This was reported in the annual report of the Turkish company Aselsan.

In 2024, the company, with the participation of the Ministry of Defense’s procurement agency, conducted qualification tests of the system and verified its effectiveness in countering anti-tank guided missiles.

It is reported that the Turkish Armed Forces have adopted the AKKOR 10 system, integrated into the Turkish main battle tank ALTAY.

Aselsan continues to work on integrating the AKKOR 10 system into ALTAY tanks and upgraded Leopard 2A4 tanks. Last year, an agreement was also signed to integrate this system into a prototype of a new modification of the M60 tank.

AKKOR 10

Development of the AKKOR project began in 2008, shortly after the Altay promising tank development program started.

Within a few years, Aselsan completed the design work and began testing the new system. The first successful interception of a training target was carried out in 2010.

The Turkish system works like all other early warning systems worldwide: radar stations mounted on vehicles automatically monitor the perimeter for threats. When a fast-moving object shows up, a computer recognizes the threat and fires a countermeasure if it’s identified.

The system is claimed to recognize and intercept anti-tank guided missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, and cumulative shells. When approaching the threat, the defensive ammunition explodes, destroying the object with a dense stream of debris.

The system includes rotating mounts with two mortars for countermeasures, which provide 360° coverage around the vehicle. Together with the claimed minimum response time of a few milliseconds and radar surveillance, this provides all-round protection of the vehicle against basic threats.

AKKOR 10 is designed for installation on heavy armored vehicles. In parallel, Aselsan is also developing the AKKOR KAMA variant for light armored vehicles, which is still undergoing testing.

It is also reported that the Turkish army ordered a certain number of AKKOR 10 kits for ALTAY tanks under a €54 million contract signed back in 2015. Its components have been spotted on the promising Turkish MBT prototypes and upgraded Leopard 2 tanks.