Missiles & Air Defense Naval Systems Roketsan

Roketsan’s LEVENT Missile Hits High-Speed Drone in New Test

Roketsan has test-fired its LEVENT naval point-defence missile from a standalone launcher configuration and struck a high-speed target drone, according to a report by TurDef, which cited footage of the trial released on September 20. Roketsan has not issued a written statement on the test, in keeping with the company’s practice of releasing LEVENT test clips through its own channels rather than formal press releases.

The test is the latest in a string of milestones for LEVENT, the close-in weapon system Roketsan has been developing since 2021 to give Turkish and export warships a domestically produced last-line defence against sea-skimming missiles, aircraft, helicopters and drones.

What was tested

The missile was fired from LEVENT’s standalone launcher variant, which packages 11 missiles together with four AESA radars and an electro-optical/infrared sensor suite so the system can detect, track and engage targets without depending on a ship’s separate radar and combat-management systems. This differs from the baseline 21-cell “sensorless” launcher, which relies on the host vessel’s own sensors and fire-control for target data.

According to the footage cited by TurDef, the missile scored a direct hit on a high-speed target drone. Neither the drone’s exact speed nor the engagement range were disclosed.

A RAM-class missile built at home

LEVENT uses a dual-mode seeker that combines an imaging infrared channel with a passive radio-frequency channel that homes on the emissions of an incoming anti-ship missile, a design meant to keep the system effective in cluttered littoral environments and under electronic jamming. The missile is roughly 3.2 metres long, 128mm in diameter, and has a stated maximum range of about 11km — figures that place it in the same broad category as the US Raytheon/RTX RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile that has long equipped Turkish and allied warships.

That comparison is deliberate. Türkiye has spent the past decade pushing to reduce dependence on foreign point-defence missiles for its expanding surface fleet, and LEVENT is the clearest result. Roketsan first test-fired the missile in October 2024, moved to on-platform testing aboard the corvette TCG Beykoz in March 2025, and recorded its first seeker-guided live intercept against an aerial target in November 2025. Tuesday’s test against a high-speed drone, using the fully autonomous standalone launcher, is the system’s most demanding trial to date.

Why it matters beyond Türkiye

Point-defence missiles are a comparatively small line item next to frigates or fighter jets, but they are a recurring one: every warship needs a last-ditch layer against missiles and drones that get past longer-range defences, and that layer is refilled and upgraded throughout a hull’s service life. A working, exportable alternative to RAM gives Roketsan a product to offer alongside the MILGEM-family frigates and corvettes Türkiye has already sold or pitched to Pakistan, Malaysia and other navies, without the political friction that can accompany US arms sales.

LEVENT is also being positioned as one piece of a wider naval air-defence picture. Roketsan is evaluating the missile for integration with the mobile BURÇ air defence system and has floated a possible future role on the KAAN fighter, while on the surface fleet it sits below medium- and long-range layers such as HİSAR-D and SİPER — the same “layered defence” logic behind Türkiye’s Çelik Kubbe (Steel Dome) air-defence architecture, of which the naval variant is a maritime extension.

Roketsan has not said when LEVENT will complete qualification or enter serial production for the Turkish Navy. No export customer or contract has been announced.