Aselsan and Denel cooperating on MEROPS gimbal

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On the Turkish Pavilion at Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2022 Aselsan is showing its ‘MEROPS’ next generation air surveillance and targeting gimbal sight. The MEROPS (Multi-spectral Extended Range Optical Sight) system was displayed for the first time in June at the Eurosatory exhibition in Paris, France.

Aselsan Chairman, President and CEO, Haluk Görgün witnessed the live demonstration at Air Force Base Waterkloof of the MEROPS system designed and developed entirely by the company’s Aselsan South Africa (ASA) branch. It is intended for large-scale series production in Turkey for both the Turkish Armed Forces and export customers around the world.

The South African branch supports the Turkey based company with design and development services. “We aim to establish long-term relationships and local partnerships here,” ASA general manager Sencer Sahin stated. “To date our design facility has provided advanced camera systems to Denel’s OTR test range and other local customers, including the Institute of Maritime Technology, Paramount Technologies, and Reutech Radar Systems.”

This is testimony to the company’s aim to continue its active role in establishing strategic partnerships with local entities for both South Africa’s and third-country requirements in the African region.

The MEROPS system is the latest product in the family of reconnaissance and surveillance systems from Aselsan.

South Africa’s state-owned Denel Group and Aselsan reached an agreement this week at AAD 2022 to work towards integration of the MEROPS system on Denel’s flagship aerospace systems, the Rooivalk attack helicopter and possibly on the Seeker 400 drone. A MEROPS gimbal is being displayed alongside the Rooivalk in the static area.

Aselsan SA is a wholly owned branch of Ankara headquartered Aselsan Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS, a global defence and advanced electronics company established more than 50 years ago. The local branch, staffed with a pool of highly trained and experienced South African engineers and technicians, serves as a centre of excellence for the mother company in Turkey.

Thanks to its significant investment in ASA since 2011, the branch not only provides design and development, but also acts as the hub for Aselsan’s business development strategy in markets in sub-Saharan Africa and the establishment of long-term relationships.

The MEROPS system was specifically designed for extreme combat situations, particularly in low light and the difficult light encountered at dawn and dusk. Among the roles envisaged for MEROPS are medium to long range observation and reconnaissance, pointing, area illumination and target designation at medium altitude.

The sight incorporates the latest in image processing technologies, including traditional image enhancement, as well as the latest in machine vision and AI based algorithms. Its mission enhancement capabilities include moving target identification, isotherms, false colour identification and threat identification.

The MEROPS is a self-contained single LRU (line-replacement unit) with quick-release connections. Payloads can be exchanged without calibration. Electronic bore-sighting is done before a mission, and it boasts an embedded web server for setup, control, and maintenance. According to Kobus Coetzee, ASA’s Engineering Manager, the MEROPS is easy to maintain.

Its next-generation software functionality includes multi-target auto-tracking with target re-acquisition, artificial intelligence (AI) threat detection classification and background automatic see-spot detection. The MEROPS operates at temperatures from -40°C to 70°C.

Aselsan as a global company operates in a wide range of disciplines, from communication and information technologies (ICT), micro-electronics, guidance and electro-optics to radar, electronic warfare, and defence systems technologies. It is also active in transportation, security, energy, and automation systems.

AAD 2022 is giving the company the opportunity to show a wide range of systems in South Africa. Among the field proven solutions are military and professional radios, the KALKAN mobile medium altitude 3D air defence radar, ALKAR 120 mm mortar weapon system, border security solutions, laser guidance kit, the FOPRAD foliage penetration radar, electro-optic solutions, and anti-drone RF jammer system.

Earlier this year, Aselsan South Africa revealed a range of its life support and medical imaging solutions. Whilst these innovative products were designed primarily for use in healthcare facilities in the commercial and civil environments, they would be equally useful in the military field.

The company’s personnel now total over 7 000 with a high proportion of these being engineers and technicians. It invests substantially in R&D, allocating more than 7% of its annual revenue towards these activities.

The Ambassador of Türkiye Ms Aysegül Kandas with Denel and ASELSAN executives at AAD2022 in front of the MEROPS system.