Turkey’s ASELSAN Ramps Up Serial Production of TOLUN Precision Munition — From F-16 to KIZILELMA
According to Defence Industry Europe (2 June 2026), ASELSAN is scaling up serial production of the TOLUN smart-munition family for future precision-strike air operations. On 27 December 2025 the company announced it had completed the first air-to-surface firing of its indigenous TOLUN guided munition from an F-16 multirole fighter, releasing footage of the launch, midcourse guidance and terminal impact.
ASELSAN’s TOLUN precision-guided munition family. Photo: ASELSAN.
At a Glance
- What happened? ASELSAN is expanding serial production of the TOLUN munition family
- Maker: ASELSAN (Turkey) — fully indigenous
- First firing: 27 December 2025, air-to-surface from an F-16
- First delivery: Second half of 2026 (TOLUN-SI)
- Variants: TOLUN-F, TOLUN-L, TOLUN-IIR, TOLUN-S, TOLUN-EW
- Platforms: F-16, AKINCI, KIZILELMA and others
What Is TOLUN?
TOLUN is a family of glide-wing precision-guided munitions developed by ASELSAN. A low-cost common body accepts different seekers and warheads, allowing engagement of everything from fixed targets to moving and time-sensitive objectives. After release the munition glides toward its target, extending range and keeping the carrier platform out of threat envelopes.
The munition drew attention when Baykar’s KIZILELMA unmanned combat aircraft struck targets with TOLUN and TEBER-82 in its first live-fire test. TOLUN’s compatibility with both crewed (F-16) and uncrewed (AKINCI, KIZILELMA) platforms gives Turkish air power a flexible precision-strike capability.
TOLUN-family munitions are also integrated on uncrewed platforms such as Bayraktar AKINCI. Photo: ASELSAN / Baykar.
Variants and Capabilities
- TOLUN-F: programmable proximity fuze for fragmentation against dispersed targets.
- TOLUN-L: semi-active laser guidance for moving and time-sensitive targets.
- TOLUN-IIR: imaging infrared seeker with fire-and-forget capability.
- TOLUN-S / TOLUN-SI: variants optimized for air defense and precision strike.
- TOLUN-EW: stand-in electronic-warfare variant for jamming, deception and suppression.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | ASELSAN (Turkey) |
| Type | Glide-wing precision-guided munition |
| Guidance | GPS/INS, semi-active laser, imaging IR (by variant) |
| Platforms | F-16, AKINCI, KIZILELMA and others |
| First live firing | 27 December 2025 (F-16) |
| First delivery | Second half of 2026 |
TOLUN and TOLUN-2 munitions. The modular design lets a single body carry different seekers and warheads. Photo: ASELSAN.
Why It Matters
Expanding serial production signals that TOLUN is moving from one-off test shots to fielded inventory. Standardizing an indigenous precision munition across platforms from the F-16 to KIZILELMA reduces dependence on imports while offering a competitive, relatively low-cost option on the export market — a concrete example of Turkey’s defense sector maturing from platform-building toward a full munitions ecosystem.
