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yesterday

Turkey Clears GAZAP for Deployment as Its Most Potent Air-Launched Conventional Bomb

Certification tests have cleared the 2,000-pound weapon for operational use on Turkish combat jets, paving the way for overseas sales.

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The Soloturk aerobatic demonstration team of the Turkish Air Force flies an F-16 aircraft over Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Turkish Republic's Founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, during celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey in Ankara, on October 29, 2023.
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Overview

  • State media describe GAZAP as a 970-kilogram thermobaric fuel-air bomb with a fragmentation system dispersing 10.16 fragments per square meter, tripling standard MK-84 blast density.
  • Turkey’s National Defense Ministry R&D Center reports that GAZAP passed certification testing in July and is now declared ready for operational use.
  • The bomb is approved for carriage on F-16 and F-4 aircraft and Turkey is exploring adaptations for future drone deployment.
  • At IDEF 2025 in Istanbul, Ankara also unveiled the NEB-2 Ghost bunker-buster, capable of penetrating up to 90 meters underground, and the Tayfun Block 4 hypersonic missile.
  • Ankara intends to leverage the IDEF debut to market GAZAP and its companion munitions internationally as part of its expanding defense export strategy.