What is ALKA-KAPLAN, world's first laser-armed tank unveiled by Turkey? Its capable of..., concern for India because...
Turkey, which has rapidly established itself as a prolific manufacturer of military drones in recent years, has ironically now developed a directed energy weapon that can potentially neutralize drone warfare in the coming future. According to reports, Turkey recently unveiled the ALKA-KAPLAN, a laser-armed tank designed to hunt down and fry enemy drones in the air. What is the ALKA KAPLAN tank?
Jointly developed by FNSS and ROKETSAN, the ALKA-KAPLAN is a hybrid tracked vehicle equipped with a directed-energy weapon system to neutralize enemy drones in a real-time battle scenario. The armored tank is the first of its kind in the world, and will be officially showcased at the IDEF 2025, as per media reports.
The ALKA-KAPLAN is essentially a combination of KAPLAN HYBRID tracked platform and ALKA Directed Energy Weapon System (DEWS), and is also equipped with artificial intelligence capabilities and electromagnetic jamming. The state-of-the-art tank is designed to seamlessly work with and protect conventional tanks and infantry by neutralizing drone threats in an active battle scenario. How Turkey's laser tank could neutralize drone warfare?
As already mentioned, Turkey's ALKA KAPLAN tank uses powerful lasers to fry small aerial threats like military drones and loitering munitions. Its stated capabilities, if true, can drastically change drone warfare as it presents a pocket-friendly method of dealing with unmanned aerial combat vehicles (UCAVs) and UAVs, which currently require expensive anti-missile missiles to shoot down.
Drones have become the staple in major conflicts as was seen in the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as the recent Israel-Iran war and the India-Pakistan conflict. Thus, if a weapon capable of taking out a large swarm of drones is deployed on the battlefield, it could rapidly turn the tide in a real-time battle scenario.
According to reports, the tank can identify and destroy drones, military helicopters, as well as explosives planted in the ground, such as land mines, proximity mines, etc. A video released on social media platforms shows the high-tech tank targeting and quickly destroying a drone in the air.
Defense experts believe that ALKA KAPLAN can completely change urban warfare by essentially nullifying the threat of UCAVs and loitering munitions, and can be also be deployed to protect the infantry on the ground. Why this is a concern for India?
Turkey, along with China and Azerbaijan, was among the few countries that openly supported Pakistan during the recent India-Pakistan conflict, and also armed the Pakistani forces with advanced military drones like the Bayraktar TB2, which were actively used against Indian installations during Operation Sindoor.
Many experts fear that given the recent closeness in strategic ties between Ankara and Islamabad, Turkey may offer the ALKA-KAPLAN system to Pakistan, which could pose a major threat to India as it would significantly boost the enemy's capability to counter Indian UCAVs, such as those used to target terrorist and military infrastructure in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
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