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Türkiye has reportedly developed a short-range ballistic missile in secret and conducted a successful test launch of the weapon over the Black Sea on Tuesday, Bloomberg has reported.
Citing two anonymous sources who were not authorized to comment on the matter, the outlet says the missile was fired from a mobile platform stationed at an airport near the northeast port city of Rize. The launch was conducted at around 7am local time.
The missile reportedly traveled 561km in 458 seconds, striking a target off the coast of Sinop – the longest distance ever traveled by a Turkish-made missile, according to Bloomberg’s sources.
Several videos claiming to show the launch of the missile have also been shared by Turkish media, which claim that the rocket – the Tayfun – was developed by Ankara-based weapons manufacturer and defense contractor Roketsan, which also supplies Türkiye’s army with the J600T YILDIRIM and BORA ballistic missiles, which have a range of 150+ and 280+ kilometers respectively.
The Turkish Defense Industry Agency – a government-established civil institution in charge of handling the defense industry – has refused to divulge any information about the project.
However, it is believed that the Tayfun missile will be capable of striking targets both on land and at sea, and have a range of just under 1,000km, which is typical of short-range ballistic missiles.
The development of the Tayfun SRBM has been underway for several years, according to Bloomberg.