"ASELSAN publishes an engagement range of up to 700 m for the ŞAHİN 130/40GL," ASELSAN's December 2025 brochure states — a concise technical claim that now sits alongside Pakistan's public unveiling of the system in September 2026.
ASELSAN's published specifications for ŞAHİN
ASELSAN markets ŞAHİN (also written Sahin) as a Turkish counter-drone system built around a remotely controlled 40 mm grenade launcher and programmable airburst ammunition. The manufacturer lists the weapon as a 40 mm MK19 Mod 3 grenade launcher firing ATOM 40 ABM programmable airburst ammunition, with an ammunition load of 64 rounds and a stated counter-drone engagement range of up to 700 m against mini and micro UAVs. Onboard sensors named in ASELSAN's December 2025 English brochure are a TV camera, thermal imager and laser rangefinder, and the system can accept external target cueing from radar.
How ŞAHİN counters drones
ASELSAN describes ŞAHİN's effect as a hard kill: the ATOM 40 ABM round is programmed to burst near a target and release fragments. That physical-interception approach contrasts with soft-kill measures such as jamming. The system combines electro-optical detection and tracking with the ability to point automatically at positions supplied by an external radar — the radar-cueing capability and the weapon's own sensors are presented as complementary functions.
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End the scrambleRange, ammunition notes, and manufacturer caveats
The 700 m figure applies specifically to mini and micro UAV targets. ASELSAN's March 2026 ATOM 40 ABM ammunition sheet distinguishes that counter-drone number from a separate 1,500 m figure cited for ground targets; ASELSAN's documents therefore separate the shorter counter-UAV range from longer-range claims against different target categories. The ATOM name is used across ASELSAN systems, but ASELSAN also notes that 40 mm and 35 mm ATOM-family ammunition are distinct and not interchangeable.
ŞAHİN in Pakistan's September 2026 reveal
Quwa reported that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) revealed ŞAHİN in September 2026 alongside the CASIC HQ-17AE, ASELSAN Korkut and NORINCO LD-76. The public reveal adds a specifically identified Turkish counter-drone product to the PAF's documented equipment. The reporting does not, however, specify the original contract date, quantities supplied, contract price, delivery schedule, presence of any local manufacture agreement, the radar paired with the systems, or the systems' integration into the PAF's wider network. ASELSAN's own 2022 annual report records Turkish Armed Forces induction of ŞAHİN in the first half of 2022 and a first export contract in the second half of 2022, but that passage does not name the export customer and therefore does not establish when Pakistan ordered the system.
How ŞAHİN compares with Korkut and the HQ-17AE
ŞAHİN is a counter-drone weapon firing 40 mm programmable airburst rounds at short range. Korkut is a separate ASELSAN system that uses twin 35 mm cannon; ASELSAN publishes a 4 km effective range for the Korkut 150/35 model. The HQ-17AE is a longer-range surface-to-air missile system and, per ASELSAN documentation and Quwa reporting, is a different category of weapon from ŞAHİN; ŞAHİN is explicitly not a surface-to-air missile. ASELSAN's product material also clarifies that ŞAHİN is not a laser weapon — the laser on board is a rangefinder used as a sensor, while the counter-drone effect comes from its ammunition rather than a high-energy laser.
What this means for the Pakistan Air Force, procurement officials, and air-defence operators
- Pakistan Air Force: The public reveal places ŞAHİN among four short-range and point-defence systems shown in September 2026; the PAF will need to define how ŞAHİN is paired with radar and network cues if it is to operate alongside longer-range missiles and gun systems.
- Procurement officials and program managers: Key contractual details — quantities, price, delivery schedule, and any local production arrangements — remain undisclosed in the reviewed reporting and will determine timelines for operational fielding and sustainment.
- Air-defence operators and maintainers: ŞAHİN's reliance on programmable airburst ammunition, onboard electro-optical sensors and potential external radar cueing implies distinct training and logistic demands compared with gun-only or missile systems such as Korkut and HQ-17AE.
ASELSAN's published materials make clear what ŞAHİN is: a short-range, 40 mm, hard-kill counter-drone system with onboard electro-optical sensors and the ability to accept radar cues. Pakistan's public reveal confirms the PAF has displayed the system, but the reporting reviewed here does not establish when Pakistan ordered ŞAHİN, how many were bought, what radar and network architecture will be used with them, or whether they have an operational combat record in Pakistani service. Those remain concrete, named gaps in the public record.
https://quwa.org/pakistan/air-defence-pk/aselsan-sahin-pakistans-40-mm-counter-drone-system/
