Turkey’s newly unveiled Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Yildirmukhan has attracted attention not only for its bold claims but also for its controversial AI-generated promotional video. Defense experts remain unconvinced about the missile’s projected capabilities.
The launch ceremony came under fire after an AI video showed the U.S. attacking its ally, the newspaper reported. financial times.
The missile was introduced at the SAHA 2026 Defense and Aerospace Exhibition by the Research Center of the Turkish Ministry of Defense. Claims were made that it could fly up to 6,000km at speeds up to 25 times the speed of sound while carrying a 3,000kg warhead. If the plan is successful, Turkey will join a small number of countries capable of developing long-range ballistic missiles.
The grand event gained even more attention when an AI-generated video used during the presentation showed missiles hitting American targets. The video raised concerns that the missile’s claimed range was not enough to reach the United States. Following the controversy, Turkish authorities have now admitted that a fully operational prototype of the Yildirmukhan missile has not yet been built or tested.
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Yildirimhan, which means “lightning bolt” in Turkish, was intended as part of Turkey’s broader goal to demonstrate its growing military power ahead of a crucial NATO summit in Ankara in July. The US and Israel’s war against Iran has given Turkey reason to expand its military deterrence in an increasingly unstable region.
“We will only use it for deterrence purposes,” Defense Minister Yadar Güler said at a missile launch event on Tuesday. “However, no one should doubt that if the need arises, we will not hesitate to deploy in the most effective manner,” he was quoted as saying by the FT.
Despite the rousing launch, defense analysts remained skeptical about the 18-metre-long missile’s actual capabilities. It also added that there was no indication that Mr. Güler knew that the video showed U.S. targets.
“That’s an overestimate. Turkey’s defense industry has a lot of capabilities and is progressing rapidly, but it has not yet reached this level,” one Western defense official told the FT. “It seems very ambitious and questionable,” added Fabian Hofmann, a missile expert at the University of Oslo.
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Days after unveiling the Yildirmukhan missile, Turkey’s Ministry of Defense revealed that the system is still undergoing testing. “Laboratory tests of the Yildulmuhan missile system with a warhead capacity of 3 tons have been successfully completed and field tests are underway,” the country announced on Thursday.
The development comes as Turkey expands its defense industry and strengthens its position as the world’s 11th largest arms exporter. Key NATO allies such as the UK and Germany also say Türkiye’s industrial capabilities are essential to Europe’s defense.
Turkey’s longest-range missile is currently the Taifun, which in tests has reached a range of 600 km, one-tenth of the 6,000 km claimed by Yildirmukhan.
