Roketsan General Manager Murat İkinci makes pointed post at Özgür Özel: 'The fish in the Black Sea...'

Following the successful completion of the firing test of the Sungur Air Defense System on July 3, a social media post by Roketsan General Manager Murat İkinci drew attention.

In his post on his social media account, İkinci used the phrase, “The fish in the Black Sea are a bit stressed today.” The post was interpreted as a reference to Özgür Özel’s previous remarks regarding missile tests in Sinop.

It was stated that the Sungur Air Defense System hit its target accurately during the test in question and that the trial was successful.

In his speech at the 2025-2026 Fishing Season Opening Program held in Sinop on September 1, 2025, Özel had brought up the complaints of fishermen regarding the missile tests.

In his speech, Özel stated that no one was against ASELSAN and ROKETSAN developing domestic and national defense industry products, but that the tests should be conducted in locations far from residential areas that would not harm the local population.

“You say, ‘Do not go fishing, we will conduct a missile test’ for 182 days of the year; that is, every other day. Missiles and rockets pass over the heads of tourists. The days they do not go out are a separate loss. Furthermore, the fish are startled by those sounds and tests; they abandon their habitats, they do not nest in that region, and the efficiency of fishing drops.”