1-ton warhead accelerated to 1,850 kph at Turkey’s rail testing site


A 1-ton bomb was successfully accelerated to exceed Mach 1.5 at the Warhead Rail System Dynamic Test Infrastructure (HABRAS) site, Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank announced.

"An approximately one-ton ammunition accelerated to 1.5 times the speed of sound, hitting the target. A significant success was achieved for our defense industry," Varank said a tweet Thursday, calling the test "a historic moment."

Traveling at a speed of 1,850 kilometers per hour, the U.S.-made general-purpose Mark-84 bomb successfully penetrated a 1-meter thick steel-reinforced concrete wall.

The HABRAS, inaugurated by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in late October, is used to test the efficiency of Turkey's domestically developed weapons systems, acceptance tests of mass-produced ammunitions and weapons systems purchased from abroad.