Pakistan has significantly upgraded its air defence capabilities by deploying Turkish-made ASELSAN KORKUT 35mm guns under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. This advanced system is designed to counter drones, cruise missiles, and other aerial threats, forming a crucial part of Pakistan's multi-layered defence strategy aimed at protecting critical infrastructure and military installations.

Pakistan has significantly upgraded its air defence capabilities by deploying Turkish-made ASELSAN KORKUT 35mm guns under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. This advanced system is designed to counter drones, cruise missiles, and other aerial threats, forming a crucial part of Pakistan's multi-layered defence strategy aimed at protecting critical infrastructure and military installations.

Pakistan has significantly upgraded its air defence capabilities by deploying Turkish-made ASELSAN KORKUT 35mm guns under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. This advanced system is designed to counter drones, cruise missiles, and other aerial threats, forming a crucial part of Pakistan's multi-layered defence strategy aimed at protecting critical infrastructure and military installations.

The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan is officially rolling, with Islamabad flexing its ASELSAN KORKUT 35mm air defence gun—a procurement from Ankara. The development comes a year after India's BrahMos missiles wreaked havoc across Islamabad's air bases and military establishments during Operation Sindoor.

The Turkish-built weapon specialises in neutralising not just drones and loitering munitions, but also cruise missiles, helicopters, and low-flying fighter jets. 

How KORKUT will benefit Pakistan?

According to the manufacturer ASELSAN, the KORKUT 140/35 system will operate in teams consisting of three Weapon System Vehicles (WSVs) and one Command and Control Vehicle (CCV). "KORKUT 140/35 is capable of firing Fragmented Munitions (ATOM 35 ABM). The ATOM 35 ABM and its enhanced fragmentation version, ATOM 35 I-ABM, enable 35 mm air defense cannons to effectively perform their duties against modern air targets such as air-to-ground missiles, cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles," Ankara-based defence corporation ASELSAN said on its website.

It has a maximum speed of 105 km/h and an ammunition capacity of 200 rounds (with a firepower rate of 1,100 rounds per minute). As per the official brochure, it comes with a stabilised weapon turret capable of firing while on the move and can use two different types of ammunition through the Automatic Continuous Ammunition Feeding Mechanism (OŞBMM).

Pakistan wants layered air defence?

According to reports, Islamabad's plan is to combine the ASELSAN KORKUT guns with fellow Turkish ASELSAN ŞAHİN 40mm counter-UAS turrets and Chinese HQ-17AE missiles to come up with a layered counter-UAS network.

When combined, the HQ-17AE can engage faster and larger threats from a distance, while KORKUT can take out those projectiles that manage to get past the missiles at a range of up to four kilometres. The ŞAHİN systems complete the multi-tiered air defence mechanism by ensuring a final defensive capability around critical installations and bases.

Having KORKUT guns means Pakistan no longer needs to fire its precious interceptor missiles to neutralise the threats posed by cheap suicide drones. Drone swarms can lead to sensor overload and quick depletion of interceptors without costing the enemy substantially. The presence of radar- and electro-optical tracking-equipped systems like the ASELSAN KORKUT is thus a major level-up for the Pakistani military.

It is not immediately known how many KORKUT batteries were obtained by Islamabad and where they are positioned.

Understanding the Mecca Pact

Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan inked the Mecca Pact, a trilateral defence pact that is closely watched due to Saudi Arabia's wealth, Turkish defence-industrial capacity (proven UAV and electronic warfare exports), and the Pakistani military workforce and nuclear-armed strategic depth.

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According to the terms of the defence pact, an attack on one of the nations will be interpreted as an attack on all three, though the confusing rhetoric around the August 7 agreement indicates that actual military mobilisation may be the absolute last resort, and the real goal is to maintain diplomacy and build a regional security umbrella.

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The coalition is being watched closely in New Delhi, especially in the wake of India’s deteriorated relations with Türkiye following Ankara’s stance on Operation Sindoor.

 Though India is countering the Turkey–Pakistan alliance by strengthening defence ties with Türkiye’s rivals, including Cyprus, it will also have to ramp up its ties with its allies, including Israel and the US, to counter potential destabilisation in the Gulf and Pakistan’s enhanced regional influence.

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