Turkish Navy Recieved New Warships

Head frigate F 515 Istanbul of Turkish national construction of TF-100 project under MILGEM programme

On 19 January 2024, at a ceremony at the Turkish shipyard Sefine Shipyard in Yalova on the Asian coast of the Sea of Marmara, four nationally built Turkish naval units were officially commissioned into the Turkish Navy, including the lead frigate F 515 Istanbul of the national project TF-100 of the MİLGEM programme. In addition to the frigate, the A 1590 Derya integrated supply ship, the A 575 Ütğm offshore tanker and the A 575 Ütğm were inducted into the Turkish Navy. Arif Ekmekçi and a small uncrewed boat MARLIN. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the ceremony.

The lead Turkish frigate F 515 Istanbul of the national TF-100 project of the MILGEM programme was built in Istanbul at the Turkish İstanbul Tersane Komutanlığı (Istanbul Naval Shipyard). Initially, the MILGEM programme envisaged the construction of 12 nationally developed Ada-type corvettes for the Turkish Navy (four units were commissioned into the Turkish Navy between 2011 and 2019), but then it was decided to replace the next ships of this type after the first four (MILGEM-1 to MILGEM-4) with larger units, the development of which was started in Turkey – four, and then eight, frigates of the TF-100 project (MILGEM-G).

The lead contractor for the design and construction of all ships of the MILGEM programme is Turkish design and procurement state company Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret (STM). The TF-100 project frigates are essentially an enlarged version of the Ada-type corvettes and are relatively small ships for their class with a standard displacement of 3,000 tonnes and a length of 113.2m and width of 14.4m. The first steel cutting ceremony for the lead frigate of the TF-100 project (MILGEM-5 ship), named F 515 Istanbul, was held at Istanbul Naval Shipyard on 19 January 2017 and the official laying ceremony was held on 3 July 2017. The lead frigate was launched on 23 January 2021 and a flag hoisting ceremony was held at the shipyard on 20 June 2023, after which the ship put to sea for the first time for factory sea trials.

The three production frigates of this project, F 516 Izmir, F 517 İçel and F 518 Izmit (MILGEM-6 to MILGEM-8 ships), after several years of lobbying, were ordered in December 2022 from three different Turkish private shipyards, with a delivery time of 36 months – Anadolu Shipyard (ADİK), Sedef Shipyard and Sefine Shipyard respectively – and officially laid down on the same day on 10 April 2023. On 3 January 2024, the Turkish Defence Industry Executive Committee approved the construction of four more Istanbul-type frigates (ships MILGEM-9 to MILGEM-12) for the Turkish Navy.

The F 515 Istanbul frigate is armed with four four-container launchers of Turkish Atmaca anti-ship missiles, a 16-round Turkish MIDLAS (Milli Dikey Atım Sistemi) universal launcher to accommodate Hisar (SAPAN) series anti-aircraft guided missiles, 76-mm Leonardo Super Rapid universal artillery launcher (licensed from Turkish company MKEK), Turkish 35-mm Aselsan Gokdeniz twin anti-aircraft artillery system, two 25-mm Aselsan STOP remote-controlled artillery launchers, two 324-mm three-tube torpedo tubes, Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk helicopter permanently based in a hangar. The electronic warfare armament is also mostly Turkish-made.

Main features of the F515

Also commissioned into the Turkish Navy on 19 January, the integrated supply ship A 1590 Derya was built at Sefine Shipyard in Yalova. The contract for its construction was awarded in July 2018 and the ship put to sea for trials on 9 August 2023. With a total displacement of more than 26,000 tonnes and a length of 194.8m, Derya has become the second largest ship in the Turkish Navy after the Anadolu universal landing ship.

Main characteristics of the integrated supply ship A 1590 Derya

The offshore tanker A 575 Ütğm. Arif Ekmekçi is the second of two units of this type built by Ada Shipyard in Tuzla (Istanbul) under a contract awarded in February 2021 to STM as lead contractor. The lead tanker A 574 Yzb. Güngör Durmuş was delivered to the Turkish Navy on 22 December 2022. The second tanker A 575 Ütğm. Arif Ekmekçi put to sea for trials on 5 July 2023. Tankers of this type are 106.8m long and are capable of carrying 4,372 tonnes of various fuels and 631 tonnes of water.

Main characteristics of sea tanker A 575 Ütğm. Arif Ekmekçi

The MARLIN experimental unmanned boat is jointly designed and built by Sefine Shipyard and Aselsan, and has been undergoing trials since early 2022. The boat is 15 metres long, can reach speeds of up to 36 knots and is capable of carrying various armaments.

In the current realities, countries with medium technological and military potential have generally gained the ability to develop modern weapon systems. On the one hand, such countries have a flexible industrial management system. On the other hand, there is a clear political will supporting the defence sector. But in the case of such countries as Turkey, Israel and the Republic of Korea, their favourable geographical location also plays an important role. Countries with larger military capabilities such as the US, Russia and China have to spend more time on implementing new projects from concept to serial production. However, at present, time is the most important resource that must be managed wisely.

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