Indigenous Stand-Off Cruise Missile

The SOM (Stand-Off Missile) is Turkey's indigenous air-launched cruise missile family, developed by Roketsan with ranges exceeding 250 km. In 2025, the SOM was successfully test-fired with a new indigenous turbojet engine, replacing the previous foreign-sourced powerplant and completing Turkey's sovereign precision strike capability chain. The missile uses GPS/INS guidance with terrain-contour matching and imaging infrared terminal seekers for precision strikes against hardened targets.

The SOM family includes several variants: SOM-A for land attack, SOM-B1/B2 with datalink and imaging seeker upgrades, SOM-J designed for internal carriage in the F-35 (now adapted for KAAN), and an extended-range variant. The missile has been integrated on F-16s and is planned for the KAAN fighter and potentially the Kizilelma UCAV.

The successful test with an indigenous engine is strategically critical because cruise missile engines are subject to strict export controls under the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). By developing its own powerplant, Turkey gains unrestricted production and export capability for a weapon system class that is in high demand globally but controlled by a small number of Western suppliers.