Developed by TÜBİTAK BİLGEM F-16 Electronic Warfare Pod (EDPOD), officially entered the Air Forces Command inventory with a ceremony held in Konya. Electronic Support Pod (EDPOD) successfully completed flight tests against real radar systems, adding strategic power to Türkiye's defense capabilities.
Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, announced the development from the official X account and used the following statements: “Developed with the aim of reducing our country’s external dependency in defense technologies, EDPOD has made a strategic contribution to our electronic warfare capabilities. EDPOD, a radar signal detector tactical electronic support pod integrated into F-16 aircraft; is an advanced electronic warfare system that can detect signals from enemy target detection and tracking, missile guidance and target illumination radars, identify threats, record them and make precise location estimations. It was developed with domestic and national resources. I congratulate all our colleagues who contributed and thank our Ministry of National Defense and Presidency of Defense Industries for paving the way for the development of national systems.”
Critical Capabilities of EDPOD
This advanced radar signal detection system integrated into F-16 fighter jets was developed with critical capabilities:
- Detecting Enemy Radar Signals: Ability to detect signals from enemy target detection and tracking, missile guidance and target illumination radars.
- Threat Identification and Recording: Identifying and recording environmental threats.
- High Capacity Raw Data Recording: Ability to record radar contact, location and signal information with high capacity, which is of great importance for post-mission analysis.
- Precise Location Determination: Ability to precisely estimate the location of threats.
- Instant Information Sharing: Increasing situational awareness in the field and supporting rapid decision-making processes by instantly sharing the threat information it detects with other military elements.
Strategic Contribution to National Defense Industry
TÜBİTAK BİLGEM is conducting critical studies in order to provide the national defense industry with original infrastructure and systems in electronic warfare (EW) technologies, which should be the privacy of every country. With these studies that respond to the needs of the Air Force Command in the field of EW, the foundations of an important gain that will strengthen Türkiye's independence in defense technologies in the future are being laid.
