GÖKDOĞAN & BOZDOĞAN Programme

Current status

GÖKDOĞAN and BOZDOĞAN are Türkiye’s indigenous air-to-air missiles developed by TÜBİTAK SAGE under the GÖKTUĞ programme lineage.

The two weapons address different engagement zones. GÖKDOĞAN is the radar-guided beyond-visual-range weapon, while BOZDOĞAN is the highly manoeuvrable infrared-guided within-visual-range missile.

Programme status has materially advanced. On 5 May 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Technology stated that qualification of both missiles had been completed. On 28 May 2026, Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır stated that the missiles had completed their latest live-warhead verification tests with direct hits and that serial-production processes had started.

The missiles are also moving into a multi-platform integration phase. TÜBİTAK’s 2025 reporting states that GÖKDOĞAN was fired from an ÖZGÜR F-16 using AESA-radar datalink guidance and hit an air target. It also records work to integrate GÖKDOĞAN and BOZDOĞAN with KAAN, and describes air-to-air capability work involving KIZILELMA, AKINCI and ANKA III.

A key editorial distinction is necessary: a successful firing from one platform is evidence of that integration milestone, not proof that every named platform has operationally fielded both weapons.

Why it matters

Air-to-air weapons are among the most integration-intensive elements of combat aviation because they depend on radar, datalinks, mission computers, aircraft software, launchers, target-quality tracks and rules for safe separation and engagement.

GÖKDOĞAN and BOZDOĞAN therefore provide more than indigenous missiles. They give Türkiye greater control over the sensor-to-shooter chain of its combat-aircraft fleet.

That control is increasingly important as the country develops multiple national platforms. The same missile family can potentially support F-16 ÖZGÜR, KAAN, KIZILELMA, AKINCI, ANKA III and future aircraft, creating commonality across crewed and uncrewed combat aviation.

The programme also forms a technology bridge to the longer-range ramjet-powered GÖKHAN programme.

What we track

Serial production and deliveries

“Serial-production processes started” should be updated to “delivered” or “in inventory” only when an authoritative acceptance/delivery source confirms it.

F-16 ÖZGÜR integration

Track production-standard carriage, release certification, radar/datalink compatibility and operational clearance.

KAAN integration

TÜBİTAK reported integration work under the 2025 KAAN National Munitions Integration Project. Track internal-bay compatibility and flight-test milestones separately.

KIZILELMA, AKINCI and ANKA III

Record each weapon/platform combination separately. Avoid generic “integrated with Turkish UAVs” language when only one configuration has completed live firing.

Seekers, datalink and counter-countermeasures

Track publicly released changes to seeker, datalink and electronic-counter-countermeasure capabilities.

GÖKHAN relationship

GÖKHAN should eventually receive its own hub once the programme produces sufficient recurring coverage. It is a follow-on long-range ramjet air-to-air programme, not simply a block of GÖKDOĞAN.

Primary sources

• TÜBİTAK — SAHA 2026: qualification-complete statement — Records the public statement that GÖKDOĞAN and BOZDOĞAN qualification had been completed.
• Ministry of Industry and Technology — SAHA 2026, 5 May 2026 — Government source confirming qualification status.
• Anadolu Agency — Minister Kacır statement, 28 May 2026 — Records the minister’s statement that live-warhead verification was completed and serial-production processes had begun.
• TÜBİTAK — 2025 Activity Report — Records ÖZGÜR/KIZILELMA firing and KAAN/integrated-platform activity.
• TÜBİTAK SAGE — Air-to-Air Missile Systems — Current developer product-family reference.

The factual fields on this page are refreshed from primary sources, not from our own archive: past coverage provides context, but it is not the source of truth for current programme status. How we source and verify is set out in our Sourcing Policy.